On the Line

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - Apparently in football they have this thing called the ’50 yard line’. It seems to be an important marker for aficionados – they want their team to cross said line with great regularity, they want the opposing team NOT to cross, they want to make sure their seats are as close to it as one can possibly come, that kind of thing. As a hockey girl, I was only vaguely familiar with said line. Until the day that I put my foot on it at the Indianapolis Colts game (the Sunday, October 4th game). Then I got the whole picture; I was standing in the middle of the field when the soldiers brought in the flags, the national anthem was being sung and the Blue Angels flew over the open stadium. All this before the team even came in! When the Colts ran in, the crowd erupted and a few of the guys came over to us and gave hi-fives and hugs. Some were wearing pink tape and others pink shoes (no one had mentioned how fun the footwear was at these events, I might have attended earlier had I known!). Why on earth was I there, how on earth did this come to pass? The Indianapolis Colts decided to honor breast cancer survivors and one fabulous surgeon from the IU Simon Cancer Center (my own wonderful Dr. Bob Goulet) and I was selected to be one of the survivors on the field. Thank you, Colts, for making such a day for so many important women. And their friends. And their families. We all go through it together. GO TEAM!!!