Final Thoughts
Never have I been so happy to return home from vacation. I happily turned my back on the sunny 70 degree weather and welcomed the falling snow and single digit temperatures with arms wide open. I was so anxious to get the hell out of South Florida that I almost went to the airport early to try to find a standby flight.
I think I would have gone crazy if I heard one more Who Dat, or heard one more reference to Hurricane Katrina and how much the City of New Orleans deserved the win.
So now that I am home, and have completely removed myself from the Super Bowl environment and all forms of sports media, I need to put closure on this most unfortunate turn of events.
Overall I’d be lying if I said the trip wasn’t worth it. As terrible a feeling I had when Tracy Porter (I almost bought his Saints jersey when he was drafted, glad I didn’t) stepped into Reggie Wayne’s path, I cannot forget about the experiences that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. Representing the Blue Nation in South Florida was something I did with great pride and honor. Walking up and down Ocean Street was quite the thrill, sitting at the bars and people watching was great, watching Sports Center, NFL Total Access, PTI, JRIB, etc… live was awesome. The feeling of parking the car in the parking lot, passing through security, walking into the stadium, and taking our seats was one growing adrenaline rush. Celebrating the National Anthem and feeling the thrust of the flyby was incredible. Cheering on the Colts in the biggest game of their Indianapolis existence was something I never forget.
One of the more lasting memories will be how well Indianapolis’ fans represented themselves throughout the weekend. On South Beach we were far outnumbered. New Orleans made more noise, wore more clothes, ate more food, and drank more, lots more. They had no problems flaunting the New Orleans attitude. Unfortunately for them, they left a bad taste in quite a few peoples’ minds. I did not see one Indianapolis fan the whole trip talk shit to a New Orleans fan or cause any troubles. And I am not saying this as a Colts homer; this is me being a detailed observer throughout the weekend. Colts fans were far outnumbered, we knew it, and yet went about our businesses enjoying the moment, which meant being harassed and shouted at non-stop. Imagine how annoying it would get when every time a Saints fan passed you, which was every ½ second, being yelled Who Dat at. Luckily by the time the game came around the crowd was closer to 50-50, as a majority of Saints fans in South Florida simply came for the party without tickets to the game.
So the game itself. Could you ask for a better start? Holding the Saints on their first two possessions, scoring on our first two. Even though we had to settle for 3, the early 10-0 lead was as good a start as there is. Then everything came to swift halt. Play one, Pierre Garcon dropping a third down pass that was an easy first down, and most likely plenty of yards after the catch. Should Pierre catch the perfectly thrown ball, the Colts are likely to take a commanding 17-0 lead, which would have virtually forced the Saints to alter their game plan. Instead we punt, they get the ball, and after a terrible late hit call on the Colts, move the ball and get into their rhythm.
Play two, more of a series, is the terrible decision to play conservative and try to run the clock out at the end of the first half. The second we huddled after the first down run play I knew what was up. I realized Sean Payton’s genius move and Jim Caldwell’s cowardice. Payton knew that by going for it on fourth down, he virtually guaranteed the Saints three points and the Colts zero points. If they kick the field goal, they get three points, and the Colts get the ball on the twenty yard line with over two minutes – for sure Colts points to follow. If they don’t kick the field goal, they possibly score a touchdown, or they leave the Colts in terrible field position, with less than two minutes, and a high probability of getting the ball back themselves with great field position. Well it worked perfectly, thanks to the Colts inexcusable play calling. All year long we have excelled at the two minute drill, especially at the end of the first half. We had all three timeouts, and just under two minutes to go. Get at least a field goal and we go up 13-0. Alas, we decide to run three straight times, totally going against everything we’ve done all year. We sent the signal that we are not the aggressors, that we were afraid of their defense’s big play capability, and that we were arrogant enough to think the points weren’t necessary. And don’t argue that Peyton had a hand in that, I could tell from section 431 how pissed off he was at being told to piss away the clock and hand the ball off. (Side note, Peyton’s head down attitude throughout the fourth quarter is unacceptable and impacts the entire team’s psyche)
Play three, needless to say, is the onside kick. The play that guaranteed Hank Basket (piece of shit doesn’t even deserve my time to look up the correct spelling of his name) will never put on a Colts uniform again. How can a team be so unprepared for what really was not that big of a surprise? The Saints had already tried to pull one gimmick play, and are known for extremely aggressive tactics. Add to the fact that half time was twice as long as normal, it is inexcusable that the coaches did not give any sort of warning or heads up that an onsides kick could be possible.
Play four, kicking the field goal. Since I got to my seat an hour before the game started and witnessed warm-ups, I was screaming the second Stover came onto the field. When I saw #1 trotting onto the field I was relieved, then when I saw #4 I was livid. During warm-ups I watched Stover fall short and wide of multiple field goal attempts from 50+, during warm-ups. And what does Caldwell do, again, go against decision making all season, and attempt a 50+ yard field goal that anyone who follows the Colts know has no chance being successful. Why risk giving the Saints such a short field for such a low risk, low return field goal chance.
Play five is the play that no one has talked about, nor will talk about. On the attempted game tying drive the Colts were successfully, and quickly, moving the ball down the field. After converting a first down, with the Colts lining up for the hurry-up snap, a Saints player (don’t have the name as I have not read any articles or watched highlights of the game yet) gets up to the line and then falls down to stop the clock for an injury timeout. I am not going to say he faked the injury to stop the clock, allow rest, and allow substitutions (though I certainly would not be surprised if that was the case), but that flop killed the drive’s momentum, allowing the Saints to substitute and the defense to regroup. The very next play, game over. I believe in my heart 100% that had the Saints player not gone done, the interception would not have happened, and the Colts would have gone down the field to score 7. Obviously, the Saints would have had plenty of time to drive for a game winning field goal, but who knows what happens next. That player does not get injured, Peyton does not throw that interception, no doubt at all.
Another delayed point, the reversed two-point conversion, just before the aforementioned drive. Should the Saints lose the challenge, which I still believe is bullshit, their lead is 5 points, not 7. Which means if the Colts scored a touchdown, they would have gone for two, to take a 3 point lead, which would have meant that a Saints touchdown was necessary to win, and that a field goal would tie it, as opposed to win it - HUGE difference.
Lastly there was the confusion on the final desperation drive, the refusal to use a timeout, the decision to run the ball; I don’t even want to get into how dysfunctional the final drive was.
So we lose the game in about as painful a way as possible. Had we played like we did all season, not making mistakes and being the aggressor, and still lost, yes it would have hurt, but not nearly as bad as this loss. We looked out-coached, out-motivated, and out-prepared, yet we still were in it at the end, which speaks to our talents and resiliency. I truly do not think we can say we were beat by the better team, but I can’t go out and say we beat ourselves and that the Saints didn’t beat us.
Now the offseason begins, and I go back to counting down the days until the draft, until minicamp, until training camp, until opening week in September. The pain is unbearable and the new emptiness in what constitutes such a huge part of my daily life is glaring. But with each day it goes away a little, and the anticipation for next year will grow. We will hands-down be a better football team next year. We will learn and grow from this experience; we will have key players back and healthy, along with a deeper and more experienced core of backups. The road will be much more daunting next year though, with dates against the Cowboys, Chargers, and Giants at home, and Patriots and Eagles on the road. Not to mention playing in the toughest division in football. But we will win the division, go to the playoffs, and make another deep run at a title, no doubt in my mind.
In conclusion, I will do all I can in my power from here on out to avoid travelling out of state to see the Colts play, now that we are a paltry 1-5 on my road trips (2 losses at New England, 1 loss at Kansas City, 1 loss at Green Bay, 1 loss at Miami; 1 win at Kansas City).
