Colts: Reggie Wayne still has his ‘Parks and Rec’ episodes saved on DVR

How “Indianapolis” is Indianapolis Colts legend Reggie Wayne?

The wideout returned to the city for a gameday event with Castrol on Saturday, cleaning up the streets alongside 75 local volunteers prior to Sunday’s matchup with the Rams.

Just a fan these days who enjoys the occasional “adult beverage” (his words) while watching Michael Pittman Jr. and Mike Strachan, there’s something else that’s still in rotation on his television: the two episodes of the sitcom that put Pawnee, Indiana on the fictional map, “Parks and Recreation”.

Before he’d ever been a part of the show, Wayne became an indoctrinated fan, fending off social media reminders that Chris Pratt’s character essentially lived in his No. 87 jersey (even getting married in it eventually) that were so incessant he eventually had to check it out…and loved it.

Wayne himself eventually appeared twice in the series, and still has those on rotation.

“It became one of my go-to shows. Started watching it, got some laughs,” Wayne told FanSided. “Then I got the phone call asking if I wanted to be in it, and who didn’t want to be in ‘Parks and Rec’? When I got that phone call, I told them, ‘Absolutely’…those two shows are the two shows that I know for sure are saved on my DVR.”

Colts legend Reggie Wayne is cleaning up Indianapolis ahead of Sunday’s Rams game.

This author’s not ashamed to say he’s getting married next year, and when asked, Wayne was very quick to agree to appear at yet another bachelor party, a la Andy Dwyer’s.

“Hey, bro, guess what? I’ll do that. I’ll crash the wedding,” Wayne responded with a laugh.

Reggie Wayne spoke with FanSided on behalf of Castrol. Castrol and the Los Angeles Rams teamed up to launch the #DrivingForChange program with Keep America Beautiful earlier this year, and have set up events to help remove waste from every city the Rams visit during the 2021-2022 NFL season. Indianapolis is the first stop on the NFL calendar and follows LA and Charlotte, where the program launched in April — and of COURSE Wayne was the perfect representative to carry the torch. Seattle, NY, Houston, Santa Clara, Green Bay, Phoenix, Minnesota, and Baltimore are the remaining cities on the map this season.

The famed No. 87 spent his entire professional career in Indianapolis, save for a training camp stint with the New England Patriots, and reiterated that it’s a point of pride. After all, stars these days don’t typically stay aligned with one region that they weren’t born into. Doing a lot of winning helped, sure. Playing with Peyton Manning (who Wayne told me could be an owner someday) and Edgerrin James (who Wayne says hasn’t changed at all since their days together on the powerhouse Miami Hurricanes) helped establish a culture that was difficult to leave.

But Reggie Wayne is Indianapolis, and vice versa. Heck, he’s so Indy that he’s the favorite player of a fictional character set in a universe beyond our own. That counts for plenty.

Someday, the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton will come calling. Of that we’re sure.

And if — when — that happens, and another larger-than-life character (literally) sneaks out from the shadows to welcome Wayne to the fraternity of legends, you can rest assured he’ll be ready.

“When I was a kid wanting to play football, it was never to be a Hall of Famer. I didn’t know what the Hall of Fame was growing up,” Wayne stated. “For me to even be mentioned with something as luxurious as the Hall of Fame? Bro, I’m good. I’m good. Whenever it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t, I’m good, too. All I ever wanted to do was be accountable to my teammates every week, show up every week, and play the game that I love to play. If it goes down, it goes down.”

“I’ll tell you this: my phone works,” Wayne laughed, punctuating his serious answer with a verbal wink. “If they call me, I’ll answer. If not, leave a voicemail.”

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