There are certain things I have learned in 31 years of life. First, you never, ever, ever, tell a pregnant woman you didn't like dinner. Second, always keep the receipt, the betting ticket, whatever, as no matter how many hard drives you have, you have to have a piece of paper to back you up. Always send your mom a birthday card. Never drink a Corona unless you are on a beach. If you ever bet against your own team in a big game, never, ever, tell anyone, and take your friends out to dinner with your winnings. There are many others, but those are the first ones off the top of my head. Why am I starting off my post-Christmas weekend column off with this? Because the Colts did something yesterday you just don't do. You never, ever, turn down the chance to make history.
Yes, I know, if Peyton Manning had gotten hurt yesterday the entire world would be taking turns verbally slapping Jim Caldwell, Bill Polian, and every member of the Irsay family. Here's my problem with it. The players on this team work hard every week, during the off-season, to win. This was a chance to be the GREATEST TEAM EVER. EVER. The 2009 Colts would literally beat the 72 Dolphins 87-0. They would be it. The best. The ones. Peyton Manning would be the official greatest quarterback of all time and it wouldn't even be an argument, because the "19-0" trump card could be played at any time. I have never, ever felt bad for Peyton Manning or Reggie Wayne or any member of the Colts organization, but I feel bad for them today. An opponent didn't beat them, their bosses beat them. Bill "I cannot stare directly at the camera" Polian has used this logic for years. He has won exactly one Super Bowl, and the year that was won in 2006, the Colts played all the way through to the end of the season. The amount of people defending this choice today is disturbing to me, including Colts mouthpieces like Tony Dungy, who has stated he doesn't believe in the New Orleans Saints, even though they are THE EXACT SAME TYPE OF TEAM HE COACHED FROM 2002-2008!!!!
I feel for the fans who were able to afford exactly one Colts ticket this year and were treated to that crapfest put on the field yesterday if they were unlucky enough to draw that one. I feel bad for the Colts players who had a chance to go down in history, and now have to figure out a way to keep their rhythm for three weeks. More importantly, I feel bad for fans of the NFL who will now have to endure the blowhardiness of Mercury "I never met a line I didn't snort" Morris and Don Shula. The Colts got an opportunity to make NFL history, and decided "No thanks." Does that sound like a champion to you? Champions have killer instincts, a desire to win that comes from the top down. The Colts do not have that, and they now have a team, that no matter what they say, will never forget this. The football gods do not smile on things like this, mark my words. Will Manning get hurt in the playoffs? Will they get victimized by a bad call? Something will happen karma-wise to this Colts team, just like it did to the 2007 Patriots, only for completely different reasons.
There are a lot of things I could vent about today, whether it's Rajon Rondo bricking free throws and then failing on defense, how awful national sports radio is on fill-in weeks like this one, but the Colts pissed me off so much I had to do this. I am planning on re-running some old columns this week in honor of the end of the decade, I hope you enjoy them as we look back at the growth of site. As aways, thank you for spending part of your Monday with us.
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