Memo to Colts fans: Its the end of a season as we know it, not the world

First appeared on February 10th, 2010
in The Lebanon Reporter

OK Colt’s fans, so you lost the Super Bowl. So what? Now’s not the time to go all George Bailey on the world, perching yourself on the side of a bridge while hoping for a guardian angel to talk you down. Heck, even if Clarence did show up, with your luck he’d probably be a Saints fan anyway. Its days like these, moments like Sunday night that inspired somebody to quip “These are the times that try sports fans souls” (or something like that).
So you’ve holed up with the shade pulled for three days now and the décor of your home resembles something out of the pages of a “Design by Oscar Madison” catalog. You roll over to greet another day smashing half-eaten sticky buns into your mattress and trying in vain to wash the Go Colts! temporary tattoo from your cheek. Fear not loyal fan for yours is merely a chance lost- not forever gone.
The glass is half full here folks. You still have a superstar quarterback and one of the most talented teams in professional football. This is not the Titanic. Let’s don’t lose sight of the obvious here, even though the Colts have an uncanny way of making things look easy, winning the Super Bowl is one of the hardest things to do in professional sports.
So you felt good after watching that 96 yard touchdown drive in the first quarter, you know the one that tied the longest in Super Bowl history and actually ended just a few moments ago? Then somewhere between that valiant goal line stand and the on-side kick to start the second half, life changed. Uncle Mo took traded his Manning jersey in for some Mardi Gras beads and joined the Who-Dat Nation permanently. If only the Colts would have had Betty White at the bottom of that pile when the on-side kick caught them with their pants down, perhaps then Bill Polian would have a Lombardi trophy for each hand.
Of course, five minutes after the game, the mass media pendulum had returned to the “Manning is great but not the greatest” argument. Despite the fact that he’ll shatter nearly every passing record and win more games than an entire divisions- worth of quarterbacks will win in a lifetime- somehow he still manages to float in and out of fancy amongst the talking heads of the sports world with relative ease.
But as great as Manning is, the Saints were better for one night. For one night they were more prepared, took more chances and played like they belonged there when NOBODY had given them a puncher’s chance. Truth is they have a talented quarterback, underrated defense, self-admitted film junkie for a head coach and play with an enormous chip on their shoulders as a whole.
Perhaps my 2 year old said it best when he called it the “Pooper Bowl”. We laughed at him for 3 quarters and then, strangely enough, found ourselves agreeing with him by the end. Well, Pooper Bowl or not, it’s been 10 years since the Pacers played for a championship, 8 since the Hoosiers had a chance (20 since their last win) and as for Purdue, well perhaps it’s best we just leave them out of this equation entirely. The point here is, win lose or draw- relish the moment. Celebrate the opportunity. After all some good did come of the Colts loss. At least the children of the Marshall Islands will be sporting some really good looking Super Bowl Champion T-Shirts for years to come. Who said this game isn’t global?