Locals fans leave Indy elated
courtesy of ken horvath Elysburg busienss owner Ken Horvath, left, and John Spandra and his daughter, Kylie, 16, of Elysburg, pose with New York Giants owner John Mara at the Giants post-game celebration.
Photo courtesy of Ken Horvath Ken Horvath, of Danville, and his son, Seth, 15, at Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis, stand outside the Lucas Oil Stadium Sunday with The News-Item commemorative poster for Henry Hynoski.
By Justin Strawser
The last 60 seconds of Super Bowl XLVI was perhaps the most intense period of the game for fans, including several local football enthusiasts who traveled nearly 10 hours by car for the Game of Games.
"That last minute seemed like a century. Me and 68,000 other people were watching the clock. If you were a New York Giants fan, you wanted to see it run out. If you were a New England Patriots fan, it was to have it last as long as possible," Ken "Shockey" Horvath said Monday evening by phone interview as he was traveling back from Indiana.
He, his wife, Pam, and their sons, Seth, 15, and Noah, 13, of Danville, had seats 17 rows up from the corner of the Giants end zone - three rows away from Bon Jovi's keyboard player and 10 rows in front of Flavor Flav.
"It came down to the last play and they almost pulled the Hail Mary off," he said, describing the final moments when Patriots quarterback Tom Brady threw a last second pass into the end zone where multiple players failed to complete a play that might have changed the outcome of the game.
Horvath continued, "Everyone was holding their breath. I don't think you could ask for a better Super Bowl.
The Elysburg businessman compared the game to Super Bowl XXI when the Giants battled the Denver Broncos.
"The Giants were down against Denver, and they came out in the second half and pulled out a victory. I was hoping for more of the same (after the first half)," he said.
And his hope was not in vain as the Giants claimed victory 21-17.
"It was intense and exciting throughout the entire game, right up until the last play," he said.
Pam and Noah are Patriots fans. Seth, usually a Philadelphia Eagles fan, put his support behind the Giants for one game. After the game, Noah hugged his father and said, "You got us again, but it was a great game."
Horvath and his family drove out Thursday to spend time in the city before the big game, an experience he'll likely never forget.
On the drive out, he taped copies of The News-Item's commemorative poster for Henry Hynoski, the 23-year-old Southern Columbia Area alum playing for the Giants in his rookie year, onto the windows of his car.
"I'm not kidding, at least 50 people stopped to take picture of that and scream 'Hynoceros!'" he said.
He was also impressed with the city's efforts.
"Indianapolis did a fantastic job. The Super Bowl village, an area outside the stadium, had fans, events and vendors," he described.
John Spandra, of Elysburg, and his daughter, Kylie, 16, traveled to Indianapolis Friday and joined Horvath in the fun.
"We could have spent all day there. It was like a big street carnival with the vendors and the zip lines," he said about the six hours they spent there.
On Saturday, the two families were able to participate in the NFL Experience, where they met Clay Matthews from the Green Bay Packers, Cam Newton from the Carolina Panthers and other players.
The father and daughter, who were also driving back Monday evening, had seats between the goal line and the five yard line in the upper deck.
"The game was unbelievable. The stadium and the game were the best I've ever been to," Spandra said.
After the game, the Horvath and Spandra families were all in for a special treat: Hynoski's parents, Henry Sr. and Kathy, provided them with special tickets to attend a post-game celebration in the Giants' hotel where they partied with the winning team, met with players, the owners John Mara and Steve Tisch and the general manager Jerry Reese, and took pictures with pop singer Katy Perry.
"That experience - they know how to celebrate when you win a Super Bowl. It was unbelievable," Horvath said, noting the plentiful food and quality champagne.
Combined with the weekend festivities and cheering the "Cinderella story" of Hynoski, Horvath said his time at the Super Bowl was great.
"It put the icing on the cake as far as the whole weekend," he said.
Kylie was grateful she and her father could take this once in a life time trip to the Super Bowl and have the bonding experience.
"It was the coolest thing I've ever done in my life. How many 16-year-olds can say they were at a Super Bowl?" she said.
"It was a heck of a weekend," her father said.
While Spandra's big weekend is over, Horvath has decided to extend his own experience by traveling up to the parade in New York City today (Tuesday).
"That's how I'll cap my season. There's no better way to end it," he said.
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