Colts vs. Patriots – November, 2009 – The Way I Saw It

I have been attending sporting events for most of my life. Many are great experiences, a few are boring and most of them fall somewhere in between. What I experienced last night at Lucas Oil Stadium left a sold-out crowd speechless at first and then screaming at the top of their lungs in absolute celebration. As I sit here nearly 12 hours after the Colts come from behind victory I am still completely amazed by what I saw. We saw greatness. We saw futility. We saw the Patriots doing whatever they wanted offensively and the Colts struggling……for most of the game.

For 3 quarters the Patriots controlled the game. Many national media outlets are saying that the Patriots manhandled the Colts. I disagree. Clearly the Patriots played better than the Colts did; but, we had many, many self-inflicted errors. These caused our defense to stay on the field for too long and allowed the Patriots to keep rolling. The Patriots are clearly an outstanding team. But, to say that they just destroyed the Colts is a misrepresentation of the facts. Much of the damage, we did to ourselves.

The Colts have an ability to rise to the occasion. They are a team on both offense and defense that is doing whatever it takes to win. That is what happened on Sunday night. The Colts simply had enough. Enough of the dropped passes. Enough getting beat down field by the Patriots receivers. Enough of letting Tom Brady do whatever he wanted. They simply had enough. I was there and for most of this game I was as frustrated and disappointed as I have ever been watching a Colts game. Then, they decided to fight back.

On 4th and 2 on your own 28 yard line you elect to go for it?? Wow. I think “Hoodie” has a very healthy ego. He has built a team that also has a very healthy ego as well. In part, that is one of the intangibles that makes them such a great team. But, this call has got to be one of the most foolishly self assured and arrogant coaching decisions I have ever seen. Ever. Period.

We were reminded of an invaluable fact last night as Colts fans: As long as Peyton Manning wears #18 for the Colts, we will always, always, always have a chance! Peyton is cut from a completely different cloth. He is an example of preparation and maximizing your gifts.

Here are some pics that I borrowed from the Indianapolis Star web-site:

Bill "Hoodie" Belichick and friend who shoved down an NBC camera man leaving the field after the game. Yeah, classy.

Reggie Waye, catching the game tying pass with :13 seconds to go (extra point gave us the lead)

Peyton celebrating a big, big win against the Patriots

My First Blog – Thoughts…..

I think that my wife is the most amazing woman on the planet. She rocks my world and most of the time she doesn’t even realize it. The way she laughs, the way she walks, the way she LOVES food, the way she plays with her hair when she’s deep in thought….I love it all. Nearly every day she teaches me more about how to pursue God and love people. She’s the total package and I am blessed beyond words.

 

I think I need to play more golf. As I sit here today, I am not a gifted golfer. There was a time when I could play but it’s gotten lost in the day to day of life, business & ministry and I really miss it. I am going to play more this year.

I think that dogs are awesome…..especially my dog, Sophie!

I think that people who serve us or do things for us deserve our respect. People who bring us food in a restaurant, the guy who cuts our grass, the people who take care of our cars…those who serve us deserve more respect from us. Just because we pay them doesn’t mean we get a free pass to be annoying or disrespectful.

I think the Cardinals need better pitching….really, how long can they expect these guys to keep delivering? Spend some cash or make a trade for pete’s sake.

I think the Colts could be really, really good again this year. No bold predictions yet but I think they will be a force.

I think the Church of Jesus Christ needs to take a long hard look in the mirror, form a new ministry paradigm, scrap some traditions and take the world for Jesus.

I think that family and friends are invaluable and I need to spend more time pouring myself into both.

I think that I am going to spend more time getting to know my neighbors this summer because I can’t reach them if I don’t spend time with them.

I think that I need to stop writing until next time….until then, I hope that I live with NO Regrets!