‘Tuba Guy’ far from finished playing at Colts games

It’s been about 25 years since Ray Bridges first sneaked his euphonium into a Colts game. He can’t remember the opponent, but he clearly remembers the sound his “baby tuba” made in the RCA Dome.

“It bounced off the roof, and it just cranked up everybody,” Bridges recalls with a proud chuckle. “They started saying that I had to bring it back.”

So he did. Bridges, of Indianapolis, had a friend who worked in the RCA Dome back in the early 1990s. The two met in Blue Alley before home games where Bridges handed off his horn. The employee lugged it inside and up the stadium stairs to Bridges’ seats, and so the tradition began.

Bridges and his wife, Diane Bridges, bought their first Colts tickets in 1987. Just a few years later, Ray started pumping up the crowd with his echoing “Charge” tunes. The super fan couple figures they have only missed about five games since then. Ray is known in the Colts community as “Tuba Guy.”

The nickname is inaccurate, but Ray embraces it. “Euphonium Guy” just doesn’t have the same ring to it. Though his horn is smaller than a tuba, it still commands attention. Enough attention that it’d be tough for Ray to even think about sneaking it into Lucas Oil.

He doesn’t have to worry about sneaking in the euphonium any more, though. Not since Colts’ Chief Operating Officer Pete Ward gave him a special pass, which is a big deal in a league with really strict security policies.

The Colts’ nod of confidence comes after years of commitment from Ray and Diane. They’ve been leaders in Colts forums, organized game day cheers and Diane even managed The Thundering Herd, the original Indianapolis Colts fan section that is no longer around.

They love the Colts. The team has been their “common ground” through 31 years of marriage.

“Even if you love someone, there will be times that you disagree,” Ray Bridges says. “We’ve disagreed, but there will always be a practice, event, or game to bring it back together.”

In 1999, Diane became the first person representing the Indianapolis Colts to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Visa sponsored a contest that recognized some of the most famous fans in the country including Fireman Ed, “Big Dawg” and Boss Hogette.

Diane earned her football immortality by doing what she loved. She loved organizing offseason camps for Marshall Faulk, and she loved meeting and talking with Colts players after every game — back when that was still possible.

“But things change once you get the notoriety,” Diane says of the Manning-era Colts. “Quite honestly, it has become a more dangerous world. So they have to take some precautions.”

Through the last 28 years as die-hard fans, they’ve seen stadium security get tighter — particularly after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, Diane says, — and they’ve watched players become more isolated from fans.

For Ray and Diane, most of the interaction they have with today’s players comes on game day. Even then, they spend most of their time during games interacting with other fans. Though they’re in the limelight, players aren’t always the focus.

“We’ve been to 18 other stadiums now, and I feel that we have some of the best fans in the world,” Ray said. “When visiting fans come here, it’s important that when they leave, they think positive things about the game and the fans here.”

Ray is 54 and Diane Bridges is 60. For nearly half their lives, they’ve been making sure other fans think highly of Indianapolis. Ray has carried his euphonium to just about every Colts home game. They’ve been loud, proud fans and they have the stories to prove it. And Ray says they’re far from finished.

“People think you have to be really young to be really crazy,” he said. “But I’ll be painting my face until I can’t lift my hands.

“We’ll be fans for as long as we can.”

Follow Star reporter Dakota Crawford on Twitter: @DakotaCrawford