COLTS vs BOLTS

I am a displaced Charger fan. I currently live in Indianapolis which is under the fan-ship of the Colts. When moving here two years ago from California I was asked for whom I might cheer? My “politically correct” response was: I will cheer for the Colts just as long as they are not playing the Chargers, affectionately know as the Bolts. In my two plus years of living in Indy they have played twice. In both scenarios the Bolts have taken it to them. Okay, for those who follow football a bit know the most recent win was really a gift from the Colts, but a double-u is a double-u none the less.

Today the two teams compete to see who gets the opportunity to play the Patriots for the AFC Championship. I am writing this for later posting as I am currently flying to Southern California for a graduate degree I am working toward. I share this as I will not catch this game until late in the first half. So anything I may say here might be spoiled by the actual events. Good news is, based on my philosophy of “fan-dom” I will have a team in the finals regardless.

I have come to highly respect the Colt organization. They are filled with quality individuals from the ownership right down to the playing field. Few men have the integrity and character of Tony Dungy. He has shown his consistency of faith and life on the most public of stages.

He has made it a point to downplay the reality they are the defending NFL Champions. It is not about what they did last year, but what they can do this year. In this week-ends USA Today (which I just got to today) Peyton Manning makes a great statement regarding last year’s Super Bowl accomplishment. “This is a new year, and we know nobody else cares what we did last year. And the truth of it is, we really don’t care either.”

This gave me a glimpse of the greatness of this franchise. They enjoyed the achievement of 2007, but they chose not to live there. There was an organizational wide understanding that complacency is not a plan. Past success can contribute to future achievement, as long as the conversation is not built on “how we where.”

I need to remember this. What I have done before holds no guarantees that such can be done again. Any past accomplishment can be built upon, but not if it is used as an anchor to hold me to it.

Bolts or Colts? I just hope for a well played game by both. Then the team moving on can do so with full knowledge it was earned. BOLTS WIN! BOLTS WIN!