Lucas Oil's sponsorship deal with the Colts is "only as good as the exposure it gets," and the NFL schedule-makers have not done company CEO Forrest Lucas "any favors" in that sense, according to Anthony Schoettle of the INDIANAPOLIS BUSINESS JOURNAL. Of the six primetime games on the Colts' '13-14 schedule "only one is at home," and the primetime exposure Lucas Oil is getting "has increased only one game over last year." Lucas said, "I was surprised by the schedule. I would have thought after last year, the Colts would be off the bottom of the totem pole and we'd have gotten a few more prime-time home dates. Those prime-time (home) games are huge for us." He added, "I don't want to complain too much because the Colts and the city of Indianapolis have been real, real good to us." But Lucas "couldn't hide his disappointment." He said, "Those early games kill our exposure on the West Coast." Lucas said of the Oct. 20 Broncos-Colts game, "It's big not just for the game coverage, but the pre-game coverage as well. That gets your name out there a lot on the sports-talk radio and TV shows. And we love the night games, especially when they show the stadium from the outside. Our logo on the top of the building lights up like jewelry" (IBJ.com, 4/19).
