Colts Fans, climb down from the ledge

First appeared on September 8th, 2011
in The Lebanon Reporter

So Peyton Manning won’t be playing Sunday when the Colts head to Houston. And, in true Colt fashion, it’s incredibly unclear when he’ll play again. The most amazing news we saw over the weekend wasn’t the fact that the only true (and by true we mean non-medicated) Cal Ripken of Football (Manning) wouldn’t be ready for the season opener; rather it was that Colts fans by the thousands rushed for the window ledge upon hearing the news.

This team deserves more. For over a decade we’ve come to expect two things from the Colts. 1. They will suck in the preseason and 2. They will win 10 games and make the playoffs. So many of us have dismissed their record string of winning seasons and record shattering performance of their quarterback as the norm.

The Colts have gone from playing in front of bag faced losers to changing the sports mindset of an entire state. The hiring of Bill Polian and drafting of Peyton Manning (of which came first I am admittedly too lazy to research) brought forth torrential rains to what was once a football desert (i.e. Indiana). Football was an afterthought in this state before the Colts began their historic run. Now Hoosiers everywhere are wandering through lush meadows filled with Wing T terminology and pausing to sniff the flowering buds of the Cover Two Zone.

All because a once floundering franchise changed their fortunes so fortuitously. And just when these Colts need you most, where are you? Hiking a leg over the gunwale to abandon ship? Scrabbling for a folding chair to bust a window out of the building you are convinced is on fire?

The buzz around the state right now isn’t about the Colts playing in the only Super Bowl Indy will ever host. Rather it’s more about Manning’s career being over and whether or not the Colts will win a game before Halloween.

These guys deserve more. For well over a decade they’ve given you everything they have and now, in what appears a desperate time, you need to give them everything you have. If you’ve ever flirted with the idea of painting your face blue at work now’s the time to do it (give your boss my editor’s number if he mentions your name and termination in the same sentence). If you’ve yet to see a Colts game in Lucas Oil Stadium, now‘s the time to go.

In short the season is not over. If anything, it just got more interesting. 10 to 1 says Jim Caldwell has already hit his guys with John Blutarsky’s motivational speech from Animal House. The one where that notorious underdog so deftly opined “was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor!?”

So Manning’s staying home with his wife and newborn twins. That mean’s only 1 of their 4 pro-bowlers is knee deep in diapers, they still have talented players and a veteran quarterback with enough experience to keep them in games. Don’t underestimate the immeasurable fact that the heart of a champion still bleeds blue under every jersey that will see the field Sunday in Houston either.

If you’re still unconvinced of the importance of maintaining your support for the Colts you’re likely spoiled by their excellence or unable to read English. In the case of the latter-caminar sustantivos!

It won’t be easy and it may be ugly- but come what may there remains one person this team should always be able to count on- you (provided of course you are a Colts fan, of which I am guessing you are considering you’re still reading this).