Training Camp 2000s

[RWB]

These are great stories. I remember some of your Reggie Wayne stories... and those instantly gave him a tick up in my book.

Thanks for the memory jog bud. Seriously I am starting to forget a lot of this. With Reg I remember two and I will post those but he really didn't come to mind until your post.

[RWB]

Well this one is pretty sad cause frankly I forget most of the details but enough to remember Reggie Wayne was/is a good guy.

So to get to the main football field and practice fields a vehicle bridge led to a parking lot that was converted into Colts City. I would think it's similar to what they do at Westfield this day and age with booths, autograph tent area, etc: Anyway the players residence halls had these older lady housekeepers who treated the players like they were their own kids or grandkids. Bring them cookies and other home baked goods.

On this particular day a housekeeper during her break took time to go down to the City to look around. Unfortunately somehow she tripped at that bridge and busted herself up pretty good. I mean bad enough an ambulance had to be called. Just so happened Reggie Wayne was driving his cart across the bridge at the same time and found her. I do know he got help either by calling the ambulance or getting someone to do it (frankly I can't remember). He did stay by her until an ambulance arrived.

Apparently she got some real nice flowers later from Reggie and the running back coach (Shuey?) telling her to get well. Not sure if she was in Reggie's hall (maybe) but a really nice gesture on how those guys appreciated the ladies no matter what.

Memory #2... Every camp Reggie would show up at camp a different way. I can't remember all of them but this one stuck because I was in on it.

I get a call from the Colts office switchboard asking for assistance. They would like an officer to meet Reggie at the main campus entrance to escort him to the residence halls. This was strange since he had been to the same location for years. So I'm waiting near the main entrance and this large dump truck (I mean road work type truck) pulls down the main entrance. Next thing I know Reggie gets out of a vehicle with a hard hat on and flags down the truck.

I can hear they are having a discussion and Reggie telling the driver he wants to drive. Here'swhere things are fuzzy. I remember the driver telling Reggie he couldn't or shouldn't because you had to have maybe a CDL or some other license to drive it .I think Reggie had to get into the passenger seat with yellow helmet on. But maybe he did convince the guy he could drive it and I'm just not thinking clearly. I didn't wait and drove down to the halls before them.

So Reggie did pull into camp in this monster dump truck and immediately approached the media who were positioned at the residence halls. First thing he said was (not exact quote but similar) I'm here to go to work for a Super Bowl. Hell of an impression if you ask me but not sure what his teammates thought. I'm sure they thought either it was cool or maybe he's gone off his rocker.

[RWB]

Still wired from that game last night so one story for the road. This one actually involves a former Pacer. I have the utmost respect for this guy and due to the nature of the story I will not reveal his name but may give one clue.

So this player would hold girls and guys bball camps during the summer time. This particular camp was ladies only. However at the same time academic camps with all male high school guys took place but of course in different residence halls. The ladies hall was locked 24/7 while the guys not until 12 midnight. Back when I was much younger I worked an evening/late night shift. I was out on a normal patrol and come across a mob ready to fight another group. It was getting really heated.

I jump out of my car and confront both groups. It was a bunch of the high school guys on one side and this former Pacer and a number of his coaches/helpers on the other side. Unfortunately the one making the most noise and really unglued was the Pacer. He was wanting to knock the dog $h!+ out of one the high school kids. I got in the Pacer's face and told him to knock off I'll take care of this. So I split the group up and told the guys you better get back to your hall or your facing some serious trouble. They panicked and frankly did what I told them to do.

Now the Pacer was still upset along with his group. Me "Boiler what are you doing" Boiler "J##n these guys were hanging out around the girls dorm outside trying to get them to let them in. #oh# I'm not having a parent call me in three months and ask what happened to my daughter. I told Boiler you have to chill and i promise you we'll get this resolved and you will not have to worry about this again. Boiler finally calmed down and then thanked me saying "I was this close to striking a kid until you pulled up. My career in anything would have been ruined. I just let my temper get the best of me".

Well I did arrange for the counselors of the high school group meet with the Pacer group and hash out an understanding. Never had another incident like that ever happen again not only that session but for several years in row after.

We became I guess you would call business friends. There was no real contact in the off season but come camp time i would be invited in to have food and just chat. Also he would invite me to one or two games a year with tickets in the section player families sit. He was gracious enough to spend a few minutes to say hi and then get back to the bench. Basically because I did take care of his groups when in town and most certainly kept him from going to jail. Anyway love the guy and for the clue he did not play in the NBA but did play for our ABA championship squad.

One other neat note. He was fully aware of PDigest and attempted to make it to one of our forum parties at Castleton. Unfortunately the timing just didn't work out.

[RWB]

Well all the stories so far either I witnessed it or involved somehow. This one I cannot validate personally but believe it's true for one reason. During camp every morning there would be a general meeting with the PD officers working the players halls. Any strange occurrence was to be passed along to other officers and the Colts main office. This one wasn't exactly a worry but passed along for general knowledge and came from a Sgt. with no reason to lie.

Apparently the team loved playing ping pong and had major competition going on. Also according to the officer they loved giving each other tons of crap. This instance there were several in this lobby gameroom area where several couches are located. The subject of playing various college bowl games came up with all proud to say they were in this or that.

So this from the horse's mouth. Peyton got kind of cocky saying how many bowl games he was in and this happened. Brandon Stokley tells Peyton that is really impressive but I know one bowl you haven't been in. That's a Super Bowl. Apparently all the guys laughed their butts off and Peyton didn't take the joke well at all and left the room. After the laughter died down Stokley did quip he might of messed up. Players did not have separate rooms and it was two for each. Ooops guess who's roommate was Peyton's? Yep Stokley. Seems Stokley spent pretty much that night in the lobby when everyone else went to their rooms.

[RWB]

This is my absolute favorite memory duing 10 years of Colts camp. I'm out an about doing a routine patrol of the campus between a morning and afternoon practice. I come across two females (one younger, one older) who are parked a sizable distance from the practice fields. The older female is struggling so hard just to walk so I stop by to offer a ride. Unfortunately the handicap parking area was already completely packed with cars. The best I could do was offer the ride and advised when practice was over or they needed to leave sooner it would be ok to drive down there and pick the older gal up.

They gladly accepted and since nothing urgent was going on I gave them a tour of the campus including some restricted areas but only viewed from the vehicle. Turns out the younger female was the daughter in her mid to late 30s and the mom probably in her late 60s. Mom was a big Colts fan and this was the daughter's treat to take mom to Colts camp.

During this particular camp (best recollection maybe 2007 0r 2008) Peyton was down with a knee injury. Reporters had no clue where he was and there were rampent reports he was not in camp and some he was in Europe getting treatment. Fact was Peyton was in camp doing rehab and no one had a clue. All Colts staff. college staff, and general workers were to keep quiet.

We finally come to the end of our tour and just seconds from dropping them off when this happened. We're on the backside of the SRC near a player entrance and one of the pedetstrian bridges from the residence halls. Wow there is Peyton coming across the bridge on crutches. I stop the vehicle until he crosses over and he sees the lady fans in my vehicle. He stops long enough to give a smile, a big ole wave, and continues into the building.

The mom is shaking and going hysterical. Saying I can't believe it he was right in front of us and waved to me and I can't wait to tell my friends. I had to be the spoil sport and asked if she could keep the encounter to herself at least a few days when it will be known he is in fact at camp. By this time she had tears coming down and I felt like such a heal for asking. I must of hurt her feelings pretty bad.

I apologized and the daughter said no problem at all and the mom said this is one of the best days I've had in such a long time. Come to find out the reason the daughter brought mom to camp was dad and mom were big time Colts fans but dad couldn't bring mom as usual. Dad had passed away earlier in the year and this trip was kind of a way to honor them both.

Thought I was going to break down in tears myself. I get worked up and maybe even overboard with my fandom for the Colts and Pacers sometimes but you know what? Maybe it is more than just a game.

[RWB]

Since we're playing the Celtics I've got two stories about the boys in Green. One about Danny Ainge being a real lowlife Richard and the other about a young player just excited to make it.

So Mrs.RWB had a female friend who worked at the same hospital who would go to some Pacer games. She was a Pacer fan but had this obsession with Danny Ainge of the Celtics. We took her to a Celtic game and were there early enough to get in when the doors opened. Hardly anyone was in the arena but some of the players on both teams were out on the floor just getting some shots up. One of those was Danny Ainge.

My wife being a kind soul and not shy asked Ainge would he mind taking a photo with them. Ainge said sure and willing took a picture with my wife. Next up was my wife's friend a split second after and Ainge said he was too busy. Sadly the friend did not get a picture with her idol. Ainge wasn't busy frankly after taking the one photo. Rather to be honest he did not want to take a picture with an unattractive woman. The friend stood around 4ft 6in maybe and honestly looked like a munchkin from the Wizard of Oz. Just such a heartbreak for her and she realized why he didn't take a picture with her. What a damn ego and Ainge will always be an @ss in our household.

Now on the other end of the spectrum.The Mrs. while being a gigantic Pacer fan was also a general fan of the NBA. Has/had a nice collection of signed shoes, towels, and autographs. One thing we would do is bring (shows how old we are) a Poloroid Instant camera to the game to get pictures and have players sign the picture. Older fans on here who attended games at MSA probably remember one of the side outside stairwells on exit would take you near the opposing teams charter bus, Sohere's what happened.

We were leaving and by chance we walked down this stairwell and straight into a barricaded area. There signing autographs was Dennis Johnson of the Celtics and another player we had no clue who he was. We take a picture of DJohnson and he signs it.

We're ready to leave and a voice says "excuse me but would you do me a favor"... "would you take a picture of me signing autographs and could I have the picture?". We said sure, took the picture showing him signing autographs, and handed it over. He says I'm only on a ten day contract and not sure if I'll be playing anymore. My buddies in the reserve won't believe me and I would just like to show them.

Well we still have a personal photo with autograph somewhere in a closet of that encounter. The guys name is Kelvin Upshaw. It's my understanding he may have played a few games for the Heat but I guess his pride and joy was being able to say he played for the Celtics or at least that moment in time.

[RWB]

I know I've posted way too much but seriously if I don't when the thought comes to mind I'll forget. So here we go again with the trigger seeing a post by Gamble1 in a Pacer thread. Gamble happens to be a relative of one of my all time favorite posters IndyGeezer.

So Geez made it down to Colts camp twice that I remember. On this occasion he stopped by to visit at my office before heading back to Indy. Morning practice was done and the players were in the dining hall. I'm hungry and ask Bill you want to get a bite to eat with a bunch of Colts? He's like sure I'm up to it.

So we go to the hall and they have sort of a buffet line with a mixture of players, Colt staff, and college staff. Now the dining hall itself is split with a section just for the players and Colts staff and another section for everyone else. Kind of silly since the ice cream machine was on the college side and players were constantly going to that side to get a desert and just hangout there.

So Geez and I finish up and I ask him if he just want's to hang a little bit in lounge area where the players kick back. So that's what we do. Different players take a seat and at one point Peyton walks by and not a single reaction from Geez. There goes Dallas Clark and Geez gives a mutual nod and we continue our conversation. He is just cool as a cucumber when most fans at least get a little giddy. Well Mr. Mello all of the sudden get's a really big grin on his face.

Out of all the people (I think he was a linebacker?) Cato June stops for a second. All of the sudden Bill get's into this big conversation with June for probably 20 minutes or so. It was like long lost brothers or get a room you two. At the time I never understood out of all the players who were really popular in the room Bill didn't have a reaction but Cato June meant something. It wasn't until many years later someone did post Geez had a connection to Michigan for some reason. Then it made sense. Shoot maybe IndyGeez knew the guy and I didn't know it.

Been so many years ago Geez posted. Hope he is doing well and will always have fond memories. Shoot Geez and I got kicked off the old RATS forum together back in the day. Had a Celtic troll get on that forum being a butt so Geez and I tag teamed on him bad enough we got suspended. Funny thing not a cuss work used we just made him/her look bad.

[RWB]

Quick observation posts I'll update as they pop up.

Saw Dwight Freeney show up to camp and not carry in one suitcase or bag. But did have a fifth of Crown Royal in each hand.

Colts were very paranoid about the Patriots way before deflate gate. Had to kick out several fans after a practice in 2001 because Colts wanted to take a look at Mark Rypien as a backup QB. Said they didn't want Patriot spies to video tape the workout (true story folks and that is exactly what I was told).

Jeff Saturday is such a good guy. O-Line had to share two golf carts. Theses giant men swamped the carts and made them look like clown cars. The guys on the cart wanted to drive past the fans but Jeff as the leader of the group made them pull over and sign everytime unless there was something scheduled they had to be to.

Only one time saw a player kicked out of camp for breaking team rules and was turned in by other players. Strict no females in the halls (except housekeepers, and food service to drop off supplies). Non drafted free agent nobody (can't remember the name anyway) decided to bring in a female companion. He and she was kicked out sometime after 1am. Player wasn't even allowed to stay till morning.

Film study rooms were located in the dining hall too. Early in Peyton's career after home preseason games he would return from Indy to Terre Haute and go directly to watch film rather than take the night off.

Hunter the Punter was so routine in what he did at some point during every practice he would hit a port-a-potty. Staff would have bets on what time.

There was a lake next to the residence halls and many of the guys took advantage to go fishing. Edge caught some and brought them into the dining hall and asked they be cooked (was told this by a food service employee). Marcus Pollard was one heck of a fisherman. I saw 7 cat and bluegills on a string he caught.

Bob Sanders spent more time lifting weights than any other player. Could be because he was injured and had more time but did hear he liked a little mirror watching. Have to admit he could have been in some body buildiing competition and competed easily.

Tony Dungy had several stacks of his books in his office. Not sure if they were for charity or maybe sent in by fans. Walked by his office many times and you could see him signing the books. Bottom line no ghost person or secretary signed it was all Tony.

Office hierarchy. Tony Dungy's lady assistant and Bill Polian's lady assistant were not close. Can't remember how or why that came up but one of them told me that.

Howard Mudd could have been a mechanic if not for football. Always adjusted the governor on his cart so he was the fastest in camp. Also know TDungy had to ask him to slow it down for safety reasons.

Tom Moore the offensive coordinator was a regular Marlboro man. If he wasn't in his office he would sit on a hillside looking over the SRC and Colts city puffing away in his own thoughts.

Had a Rent A Center employee not a big fan of Edge. Colts paid for all player rooms to have a television inside which they rented. These are college size dorm rooms so you couldn't fit a big TV in there anyway. Apparently the TV's were like 22inch models and just enough to sit on a dresser. Rent A Center guy comes out after dropping them off and pretty flustered. Said he kind of got into it with Edge who was upset the tv wasn't bigger. Edge wanted one bigger but not willing to pay for it.

[RWB]

It's your life and how anyone approaches things is their choice. Me personally I'm a big believer in my wedding vows of 44 years. People fall in and out of love and move in different directions it happens, but there is a reason folks don't like a certain kicker from Canada named Mike other than a missed kick.

He was standing along the sidelines kind of tossing around a ball when he spotted a very attractive female in the stands. You could tell he kept hanging around to get her attention until she did finally take notice. He's drinking out of a gatorade cup and when finished takes a Sharpie and writes something on the bottom of the cup. Then places it on top of a trash can, points to her, then points to the trash can. She get's out of the stand. picks up the cup, and leaves.

At the time I didn't know. Thought actually he was leaving some cryptic message for his wife though why not wait until practice was over and simply talk to her. Saw Mike a few days later when they had a short break for an away preseason game. Many times players would leave their vehicles since they were coming back and their wifes or lady partners would pick them up.

Turns out the lady I see Mike being picked up by sure is very attractive, hello honey, a big ole smooch, and looks nothing like lady gatorade cup. I know it happens with pro athletes and famous people all the time. One of my favorite players in Magic Johnson wasn't completely faithful. Just disappointing in keeping one's promise and besides he gave me another reason to not like the drunken idiot kicker. By the way this post is for entertainment purposes only and may not be based in fact or real events. It might have been a dream I had. Remember not wanting to do a blog.

[RWB]

This story you could consider sad, gross, funny, or all three. It involves an older couple who would show up to camp almost everyday for two years. Their goal was to get Peyton's autograph.

They were the unluckiest fans in the world. When I stood along the sidelines waiting for Peyton I never knew where he would start. This couple thought by following my movement they would surely be in the right place. Never ever worked out that way and of course I couldn't steer Peyton any particular direction. Especially me looking like a fool after the chubby kid incident. But I thought we finally had a good day for them after a Saturday practice.

I'm standing as usual when I have one of the Colts PR people come up to me saying hey you need to go down to the autograph tent. Peyton won't be signing along the rope line but will be in the autograph tent instead. So before I leave I see the couple and pull them to the side. Hey guys don't tell anyone Peyton's in the autograph tent this morning. Now's a good chance to get one but you better head that way now.

I get to the tent and the line is really already packed. Shoot the majority have their lawn chairs out sitting in the line and had already anticipated (maybe not Peyton) usually after Saturday practices there were up to 4 players in the tent and sometimes 5. That's a lot of autographs you can get without going through the hassle of trying to get them out near the field.

So practice is over and here comes the cart with players. Yep Peyton is one of them and the people in line are really buzzing. There in the line but a little ways back is the older fan. All right their effort is going to pay off. I'm looking at my watch and for some reason the line is moving really slow this day but that's ok cause my old fan is in the last que ready to come up to the autograph table.

Colts PR guy. Sorry folks but we have to close up shop and the guys have business to take care. The line stops right here...... Sure as hell the cut off is right before the lady fan. Man my heart sunk for her and you could see the stunned look in her eyes. As others behind also disappointed got out of line saying this sucks, to hell with the team, she just says wow I really do have bad luck.

She watches with some teary eyes as Peyton and the rest of the guys hop on a cart and drive away. I really don't know what to say but came up with this. I tell her I'm sorry and so disappointed for her but as a suggestion you might consider this. I point to a half empty gatorade bottle left on the table that Peyton had been drinking out of. I say you know others may have an autograph but none of them have something personal like a gatorade that Peyton touched and drank out of. She asks seriously I can have that? I tell her mame if you want it it's all yours. She smiled and said thank you and walked away with Peyton's saliva drink. So somewhere out there a fan has a nasty half empty rancid drink or hopefully she emptied it out and has a story to tell.

[RWB]

Quick drive by.......... The Director of the Sports and Rec center (Matt) really controlled all logistics on the campus side during Colts camp. He was a pretty even keel guy except for one occasion. There is an Olympic size swimming pool in that building and during camp it was shared by the Colts, college staff, and a few students who remained during the summer. He had to shut the pool down for three days to get it back to proper ph levels and to clean debris out of it. Apparently the players after a practice didn't take a shower and just jumped their dirty butts in and Matt claimed they must have all whizzed in the pool the way the water testing showed. I guess boys will be boys. Sorry for the gross out post. Just some weird stuff comes back to mind.

[RWB]

With Dallas Clark going into the ring of honor I do have a few stories or sort of.

Clark and Jim Sorgi were tossing the ball along the side lines about 10 yards apart and suddenly Sorgi out of nowhere fires this bullet pass hard. You could hear the smack and Clark begins shaking his hand with a grimace. It was a real Richard move since it was more like a father and young son toss back in forth and then that. Dallas was pretty decent about it and just said let me know next time. Looked like he might have jammed his finger. I wouldn't have been so polite.

After the Saturday or night/evening practices they would have an autograph tent for the fans. I was at the tent with Dallas Clark, Aaron Moorehead, and a couple of other players. Not sure from boredom or just having fun but Dallas and Aaron start telling each other numbers. At first I'm not sure what they are talking about until they start asking fans while signing autographs how old are you or how much do you weigh. Turns out they were doing a carney game of guessing age and weight. Can't remember who won and surprised some fans didn't take it personal. Since they (fans) didn't know what Clark/Moorehead was up to maybe they thought it was neat the guys asked them something.

Usually the media would get their quick interviews after practice and leave quickly. This particular week Phil Wilson of the Star was always the last to leave and hung around the locker room area to get some story material. For some reason it seemed the Colts (in particular PR staff) were treating him kind of crappy. I talked to him several times and seemed like an alright guy. But I guess I got to witness how hard it is to be a reporter at times. Apparently Wilson had written a mild critique of Clark's play and the Colts decided to punish him by not setting up interviews. I really don't know if Dallas was in on it but it sure was an eye opener between those who play and those who talk about it.

[imawhat]

Thank you so much for sharing these stories. These are very entertaining!

[RWB]

Thank you so much for sharing these stories. These are very entertaining!

Thanks I really appreciate it. I wasn't sure whether to do it or not because I didn't want my PD friends to think I was trying to gloat or something. I simply was in the right place and time to see this and thought it was such a different perspective to regular reports. My next story will show how important I was to the Colts...not...... Actually shows what a dumb@$$ moment hopefully we all have sometimes. Boy did I look foolish. Coming soon a big man and a taxi.

[RWB]

1st day of training camp move-in day. Late morning a few players have shown up but the majority come in late afternoon. There is a check-in area as the players drive by before they go to the main office to get their room keys and general info.

I'm out patrolling and everything is really quiet. Since practice has not started there are no crowds to deal with but we have 5 fans who have shown up but have been very respectful in staying where they are allowed. I feel kind of sorry for them as there is nothing to see actually.

I decide to sit near the main entrance and monitor traffic coming onto the campus and to direct any players not sure which way to go. At one point I see a taxi pull up to the entrance and US40. Out hops this hulk of a man with his suitcase. I'm thinking this has to be a free agent (I mean this was Ryan Diem size guy) who hasn't made it yet since no car. So I drive down and ask him if he needs a ride. He is very polite, says he's here to check in for camp, and gladly accepts the ride. So I pull up to the first check-in spot and tell the guys I was going to drop him off to the office since he didn't drive. Ok, great.... a wave and off we go. I ask "so what position do you play"? Oh, D-line well good luck to you. Then I get this brillant idea. I ask lineman "there are some fans down the hill by the camp parking area. Would you mind signing some autographs"?

He was such a nice guy and said sure. So I take him to the fans and he signs for all five either on a football, paper, or jersey. I thought it was a pretty cool moment. We leave and I take him to the Colts office for check-in. They tell me thanks and they'll take it from there.

I get a call about ten minutes after to stop by the Colts office. I step in and I'm pulled to the side. Colts staff "Is it possible to take this gentlemen to the local Greyhound and put him on a bus"? Me "sure may I ask what's going on"? Colts staff with a grin and a chuckle "I know he's big as a tank but he's not one of ours. For some reason he just showed up thinking he could try out for the team". I know I had to have been beat red. Here I'm suppose to be protecting folks and I bring a complete stranger into their main office. Shoot he could have been a serial killer for all I know.

Anyway the Colt's paid for this guy's ticket all the way back to Florida. As I drove away after dropping him off at the depot the A$$-U-ME quote sure could have my picture next to it in a dictionary. Somewhere there are 5 fans out there with an autograph from possibly a mental patient... well a big @$$ patient.