The Sports Truth

As a Patriot fan, I have been accused of many things and called many names since 2001. The most common theme is that us Patriot fans do not have any perspective when it comes to evaluating the ability of our favorite team. Critics say that we blindly drink the Bill Belichick kool-aid without being objective. Excuse us, but the man does have three Super Bowl titles and the most wins of any franchise since 2001 (with 85. Indy is second with 83).

Nevertheless, the irony of such accusations is that these same people can’t see the forest for the trees when it comes to the Indianapolis Colts. Stories of the Colts demise is 1) funny and 2) obviously unobservant of the conditions with which they lost their last two games.

The first loss is to one of the best teams in history (there’s my unobjectiveness coming out). Whether you think the Patriots could go 19-0 or are just a bunch of bullies waiting to get punched in the mouth, there’s little you can extrapolate about a team losing to them by just four points. The Colts played the Patriots tougher than anyone else all season, by a wide margin. That’s saying something.

Certainly very few people were condemning the Colts after losing to the Patriots. All the talk was about how the AFC Championship will simply be in Foxboro as a result of the game. The Colts then had the nerve to lose to San Diego, in San Diego. The same team who went 14-2 last year and brought every major piece of their team back (except for their head coach. That’s a whole other article). Oh yea, this game was in the pouring rain. And they were missing Harrison, Clark, and a number of other starters. Six interceptions later, the Steelers are hosting the divisional playoff game and beating the mighty Colts.

Darren Sproles jukes Indianapolis kicker Adam Vinateri en route to a 1st quarter touchdown return. A fitting beginning to a tough day for Vinateri.

Easy now. Remember that part about perspective? Patriots fans know about playing short handed. Missing more than a handful of starters. Playing with a D-1AA receiving core. It sucks, but it’s not representative of your team. Patriots fans know that the team we played in Week 9 and the team that lost to the Chargers is not the same team that’s going to show up in January.

Maybe I see too many roses when I watch the Patriots. But, I also know that the rain clouds around the Colts were only in San Diego.

Posted in Indianapolis Colts, NFL, New England Patriots