The Indianapolis Combine Experience

On Match 1st, 2026, we hit the road for Indianapolis, Indiana, Home of the Indianapolis Colts’ Lucas Oil Stadium, for the 2026 NFL Combine. 

The combine experience had a lot to offer (Including free on site parking), with a bunch of different opportunities to test your own skills in things such as the 40-yard dash, and a field goal kick, as well as the opportunity to see the Vince Lombardi Trophy, Heisman Trophy, all the different super bowl rings, and a section specifically with colts memorabilia. 

The experience also provided the opportunity for countless other photo ops, such as a draft stage, where you can take your picture with your favorite teams #1 jersey, just like they players will on draft day, as well as a physical NFL Shop Location, and an innovation corner (where you can try on a player communications helmet).

In the seating bowl, you had the opportunity to mingle with friends and family of the players, along with some scouts and recruits wondering the stadium as well. You could also see representatives from taking notes from their team’s own private box/suite above the main seating bowl.

During the 40-yard dash the stadium was eerily quiet, but for the rest of it music was being played, and you had the option to bring headphones in to listen to the NFL Network audio stream on a provided NFL One Pass app (who’s video was being played silently on the scoreboard).

Now, the fun part, I know y’all are waiting for with these articles.

Behind the Scenes:

So, I think to tell a full and complete Story, I have to start with the night before. While trying to attempt sleep, only about 4-5 hours before having to get up, a third party thought it would be funny to try to gaslight me into thinking that I did not actually know if two of my friends (whomst I knew separately, before I knew was a Unit) were siblings, instead of/not significant others. As stated, this was blatantly a stinky gas light, but, if you have a moment , imagine an entire group of people messaging you (with evidence) convincing you otherwise, constantly, for over an hour, to the point where that little voice in your head goes “well, I mean you didn’t ask”. 

After I decided to cut off that interaction, and have a nice four hours of sleep – as we’re about an hour from the stadium, I was trying to explain these bits from the Alan Cox Show I thought Code Name Andrew Johnson would find entertaining (which he did), but somehow, mixed up “I pooped my pants, I had too much corn” & the caller that keeps leaving voicemails exclaiming “You Homosexual!” To Alan, into a choir of words with letters clipped and snipped in a way you’d have no idea were anything but a Freudian Slip, in exclaiming “I pooped my pants I’m too Horny” (or something like that) as we passed a giant Nestlé bunny statue.

To get into the stadium part, after our long, early trip, I decided to get some food, because I was incredibly hungry since the only rest stop we stopped at was under construction, and only selling Water, M&m’s, and pickled sausage (all were in a fridge). After scouring the concession menus, I received an angrily put together, wet chili dog (he was whipping bagged shredded cheese onto the dog itself), in a melody of tastes, including uncooked chili, and again, frozen bagged cheese, not to be outdone with a barley cooked, watery, pot boiled hot dog, that was literally leaking inside my mouth, to the point it looked like I was pooling drooling hot dog water out the sides of my mouth.

To make up for that, we had to make a stop at Portillo’s, but not before we went to a disc golf shop, where I learned they print the discs with cool logos and characters (I got a pink one with a Pangolin on it for $10), but anyway, Portillo’s. In order to wash out the taste of that first chili dog, and hopefully beat the chili sweats out of me as well, I decided I had to get a real Chili Dog from Portillo’s. Absolutely amazing. no notes, amazing.

Now, this is where the fun part starts – On the way down, we saw a City in Ohio, named “Florida”, so we decided to go visit and see if there were any funny “welcome to Florida, Ohio” signs or anything of the sorts. We managed to find extremely long, winding roads, with absolutely no light on them, what was clearly a church, turned into the “Florida Public Library” (home of the demon/devil’s bible) followed by a “SnakeTown USA” Florida, Ohio sign across the street, as well as a line of houses with very differing political flags (multiple points of view on each house), and very brightly lit, almost illuminating Pepsi Vending machine at the end of the street, followed by street signs & billboards with what looked like Gurmukhi/Saraiki writing on them. What an interesting place.

To finish off the night, something happened (I can’t even remember what, being the day after that I’m writing this), that made me laugh so uncontrollably hard, that I projectile vomited Dr.Pepper (and probably some watered down hot dog), after a day of stomach cramps (post-stadium toilet hot dog stomach cramps).

So, with a wet lap and upper torso, CNAJ offered to go into the Kroger I stopped in to swap shirts, and get a new pant and shirt combo – little did I know he’d pull up with almost $80 (after he signed up for Kroger rewards of course) of the worst outfit imaginable – Pabst Blue Ribbon pajama Pants, and an Ohio State shirt that just said “The” on it (which I ripped the sleeves off because I was having Chili sweats again). 

What a horrible outfit to be wearing, as you forget to turn your headlights back on while pulling put of the parking lot, and immediately get pulled over the Local Police. One look up and down at me, and he asked if I’d been drinking that night. He also didn’t know what the NFL Combine was, which was odd. This also marks the second year in a row I was Pulled over on March 1st.