I’m just wondering if you heard it last Saturday? It was late but clearly audible. You know, the collective groan from Lucas Oil Stadium when your Indianapolis Colts failed to convert late in their game against the Houston Texans and punch their ticket to the NFL Playoffs as, believe it or not, a Division Champion.
Yes, when a routine pass play went askew and the magic glass slippers the home team was wearing shattered, I’m certain l clearly heard the aforementioned sighs all the way down in Houston, Texas, as l sat in my hotel room some one thousand miles away from the collapse watching intently on television.
For a couple of minutes, I thought about the faithful who buy season tickets and merchandise routinely every year, and I even quickly observed a pseudo moment of silence in their honor.
Once again, their team teased them with the dream of a playoff birth all week leading up to the game, only to deliver more disappointment and crocodile tears to those who were hoarse from yelling all night at both the opposition and the officials.
Honestly, did you really think this group was incapable of breaking your heart and placing you in the dreaded non-playoff purgatory that accompanies the off-season for tens of millions of fans?
After all, it’s the same cast of characters that lost games this year they should’ve won, and, of course, along the way won a couple they had no business winning to boot. Sound like a team that you are familiar with?
It’s one that was as unpredictable as your Aunt’s Sunday meatloaf and yet one that brought you more joy than two puppies carrying your slippers into the living room.
Weird analogy? Not really, as these Colts in some ways had no business being in the playoffs after an up and down season in arguably the worst division in the American Football Conference.
Plagued by holdouts, injuries, suspensions and even domestic violence off the field, this team never had a full arsenal to compete with yet gave those who wear Colt jerseys and their hearts on a sleeve something to either curse or praise every week of the this NFL season.
Despite the rollercoaster ride you experienced with them, you never gave up until a poorly thrown pass to an open receiver with his upper body heading one way and his lower body heading the other way failed miserably, setting the stage for another long off-season filled with both angst and hope for vast improvement.
You can take solace in the fact that they almost made the playoffs (wink, wink) or you can trash them over a beer with fellow fans, as, after all, misery loves company, and despite their unpredictability and confusing performances, they’re still your Colts and you still can’t decide on whether to love them or hate them, and that’s what being a fan of this franchise is all about.
Danny Bridges, who is truly amazed by the loyalty and support the Colts fans demonstrate year after year, can be reached at (317) 370-8447 or at bridgeshd@aol.com.
