Like many Indianapolis Colts fans, I spent this past Sunday afternoon fuming.

7 Pro Bowlers and the NFL rushing leader and the Colts still aren’t going to make the playoffs. SMDH.

— Andy Proffet (@andyproffet) January 9, 2022

For those who don’t follow the NFL, here was the scenario: beat the Jaguars, who entered the final game of the regular season with the worst record in the league, and the Colts would be in the playoffs despite starting the season 0-3. Heck, even a tie would have done the trick.

But the Colts–who could have clinched a playoff spot the week before, had they not lost to the Raiders–instead played like they do every time they play in Jacksonville. Terribly.

The Colts lost, and then the Steelers won in overtime to officially eliminate Indy from the postseason. And I stewed.

But then, it dawned on me–and this is one of those painfully obvious epiphanies that seem silly to openly declare, but here I go anyway–that I don’t need to be this invested in a sports team.

A bit of history: I didn’t really get into the NFL as a fan until I went to college. I mean, I watched the Super Bowl some years like everyone else, and I knew many of the teams. But it wasn’t until I got pulled into a betting contest with some of my floormates at Ball State that I really started paying attention.

It’s probably worth noting that I did really well on my picks despite not knowing much about the teams. Years later, when I was a sports editor and the newsroom would have NCAA Tournament pools, I inevitably got most of my picks wrong. Figures.

Anyway, that season was one in which the Colts went 1-15, which, coupled with a trade with Tampa Bay, earned the Colts the top two picks in the next draft.

That didn’t pan out so well.

Nevertheless, there were some exciting moments over the next few seasons. And in 1995, an underdog Colts team made it all the way to the AFC Championship game. 

I was invested, if not hooked. The hook would come a few years later, when the Colts drafted Peyton Manning and in time became a perennial contender and a fun team to watch.

Funny how having a good quarterback makes a team fun to watch. Hmm.

So Manning led the Colts to the Super Bowl, winning once and losing once. He hurt his neck and the team hit rock bottom and drafted Andrew Luck. Luck played well when he was healthy but got hurt a lot because his GM was not very good and Luck retired and Josh McDaniels decided not to be the coach and the Colts hired Frank Reich instead and they eventually ended up with a very good running back in Jonathan Taylor and a … well, quarterback in Carson Wentz.

And a season that could have ended with the Colts being a dangerous playoff squad ended with them getting routed in Jacksonville.

And I realized that I don’t need to devote 3 ½ hours every Sunday in the fall to watching this team. Not when there are so many other things I should be doing with my time.

Of course, it’s easy to say that when there aren’t any Colts games coming up. Will I still be as uncommitted when September rolls around?

Looks like the challenge has been issued.

‘Required by the lasagna with meat sauce standard’

Who knew there was a standard to define lasagna with meat sauce?

The things you learn when you get the wrong grocery delivery order…

A quick review of the ‘Eternals’

I finally got around to watching ‘Eternals,’ the MCU film released last November to less than stellar reviews.

It was fine. I don’t think it was the worst MCU movie. It was certainly long, and one does get tired of the big CGI battles that come in the final act of every movie. But these movies are what they are, and ‘Eternals’ did a good job of being its own style while still being part of the MCU.

And hey, we got a minor ‘Game of Thrones’ reunion and brought Salma Hayek and Angelina Jolie into the MCU, so there’s that.  More on this one later.

-30-