INDIANAPOLIS — It didn’t take long upon arrival — just up an escalator, down a hall, then through a doorway at the JW Marriott Hotel — to find a New Hampshire presence at Super Bowl XLVI.

It was waiting for me with my credentials for the weekend, in fact. Sent randomly to the last in a line of eight stations where passes were being distributed, mine were handed over by Hannah Goldman — who is from Bedford, who worked for the Patriots’ public relations staff a season ago, and who is working for the NFL this week after signing up because as the season progressed it looked as though her team had a shot to get here.

Her hunch was right, of course, and so, with the Patriots preparing to face the Giants on Sunday night, she’s joined by thousands of New Englanders here in a city that has shone brightly in the way it’s embraced the big game — and has thus far handled its hosting duties with very few complaints.

According to those who’ve been here all week, and as I saw for myself, traffic is negligible, people are being treated with hospitality best described as Midwestern, and as industrially gray as other parts of the city may be, the area serving as Super Bowl headquarters is draped in banners and decorated vibrantly.

Blessed by unseasonably warm temperatures and beaming sunshine, the streets between the Marriott’s media center and Lucas Oil Stadium were alive on Friday afternoon as fans flocked to the various offerings. The NFL Experience has overtaken the city’s convention center. A Triple-A baseball park has been transformed to a tented entertainment venue. There are zip lines on which people soar over Capitol Avenue. And free concerts are staged at the foot of the stadium.

On this afternoon, many of those enjoying everything were wearing football jerseys, and if that sampling was representative, New England fans are outnumbered in these parts. The most popular color, naturally, was the blue of the hometown Colts — Peyton Manning’s uniform was more prevalent than Eli Manning’s — though Giants jerseys were certainly more visible than Patriots garb.

But regardless of rooting interest, the vibe was a happy one, especially for those fans lucky enough to visit Radio Row. In a third-floor ballroom at the Marriott, it’s full of radio stations broadcasting to audiences across the country. And so it’s also where athletes and celebrities come to promote their sponsors.

The fans were fixated on one particular booth just after noontime, so a producer from another station came by to see what the fuss was all about. “Tim Tebow,” is the answer she got.

“It’s always Tebow with this sort of crowd,” she said, not interested in the Denver quarterback as much as Jacksonville’s 5-foot-6 running back. “Have you seen Maurice Jones-Drew?”

“No,” was the reply. “Look low.”

Turned out Jones-Drew was doing a TV spot. While Curt Schilling was swilling from a Mountain Dew and hawking video games. While Clay Matthews walked in wearing a purple sweater and a ponytail. While Adam Vinatieri — not in an interview, but strolling through casually — chatted about the Snow Bowl game of 2001.

All that came between the rounds of rapper Vanilla Ice and model Kate Upton, and just after NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell held a press conference in which he took as many questions from CNN (Cable News Network) as he did from OCNN (Ocho Cinco News Network). Even the commissioner, a serious sort, had a laugh when the latter reporter introduced his affiliation.

Apparently that’s indicative of Indy so far, though – having afforded no lack of reasons to smile.

Dave D’Onofrio covers the Patriots for the New Hampshire Union Leader and Sunday News. His e-mail address is ddonof13@gmail.com.