INDIANAPOLIS — Saturday's Indianapolis Colts game is going to be sentimental for one local man who has been with the team since the beginning.
All eyes will be on the Colts as they try to clinch a playoff spot with a win over the Houston Texans.
"It needs to be accurate. It needs to be quick," said Chuck Leonard.
Just like anyone on the field, Leonard also has to keep his head in the game.
"I've got a job to do and I've got to pay attention to that job," said Leonard.
Leonard has been the scoreboard operator since the Colts came to Indianapolis in 1984.
"The first preseason game back in '84 I'm thinking, 'Can I do this?' You get more comfortable with it," said Leonard.
Leonard overlooks the field, never missing a home game, and his wife, Janet, has watched her husband's work from afar.
"I know he has to work fast, so I'm thinking about him as much as I am the game," Janet Leonard said.
The former superintendent for Hamilton Southeastern Schools got this position almost by accident. His brother-in-law ran a television syndication company back when the Hoosier Dome was under construction, and they needed a scoreboard operator.
"I don't have too many people come up and ask me, 'What are you doing with curriculum with Hamilton Southeastern next year?' They say, 'How are the Colts going to be next year?'" Leonard said.
But like any athlete, who knows when it's time to hang it up, Leonard is retiring from his scoreboard job at the end of the season.
"You've heard people say, 'It's better to go out five years too soon than five minutes too late,'" he said.
So, after 40 years and more than 400 games, Saturday's game could be his last.
"It's going to be emotional for me, knowing the last score that gets on there and knowing that he's got a long walk," Janet said.
Congratulations, Chuck, on a job well done.
"I'm so proud of him," Janet said.
Hopefully, the Indianapolis Colts will keep him busy, punching those numbers on the correct side of the scoreboard.
"A lot of the people will be clapping for the Colts, that they win, but I'll be clapping for the man that kept the scoreboard," said Janet.
Leonard began training his replacement last season and said the scoreboard is in good hands. He looks forward to watching the Colts next season like a regular fan.