The Cubs were winning 3-1 going into the bottom of the ninth. An error at second base ended up loading the bases, and two batter later, the Cubs lost 4-3. It was a pretty depressing afternoon, and sad to see the large number of Cubs fans end up leaving as losers. I should try to get to more baseball games next year, even if it is just the Indians. I had a good time.Following the Cubs loss, I felt that I still had the evening to look forward to, since I was coming back to Indy and heading to Lucas Oil Stadium for the first game of the 2008 NFL Season. My hopes were high, and I had no concerns for the Colts to pull off a win.
I went from being a Pro-Chicago fan, rooting for the Cubbies to an anti-Chicago person, rooting against the Bears.
Our seats at the Lucas Oil Stadium were pretty good.
The Giant American Flag that covered the field for the National Anthem.
There was a fly over by a number of helicopters.It was pretty cool.
Sadly, the game proved that I can be disappointed twice in one day, in two different cities, by two different teams in two different sports.
Am I upset? Yes. But, am I crazy-pissed-off? No. I am okay with the lose. It was kind of a humbling experience for us.
In 2005, we started 13-0.
In 2006, we started 9-0, before losing to the Cowboys.
In 2007, we started 7-0, before losing to the Patriots.
I think there was just a little too much pressure each season, as the season went on. I'm hoping that all of the pressure is now gone. Now, we can just go out and play football for the remainder of the season. I also hope that we end the season somewhere around 12-4, and third in the AFC. I don't want a Bye in the Opening Round of the playoffs. I want to play. Every post-season that we've had a bye, has resulted in a lose in the second round. The year we won the Super Bowl was the year we were 3rd in the AFC, and had to play each week.
There was obvious rust on Peyton Manning's part. But, it wasn't like he played like Rex Grossman, or anything. He played well. 30/49 and 257 yards is a pretty normal game. Maybe a few too many incompletes than normal, but no interceptions. We went 5/11 on Third Downs for 45%, a little lower than normal.
Jamey Richard, a rookie, took Jeff Saturday's place at Center. I am sure that Peyton and Jamey worked a lot together during the week, but it just didn't look right in the game. Also, at the same time, I don't think Richard did a good job of calling out protections for Peyton, like Saturday is so known for doing. It seemed that Peyton was rushed a little too much, aslo I think the Offensive Line needed some work. Only two of the 5 guys are even the same as last season - Ugoh and Diem. The pocket seemed to collapse really quickly, and this forced Peyton to through a little quicker and faster than he normally would want to, and I feel that resulted in some of his slow passes and some of his low passes. For last night being Peyton's only game play in 8 months, I don't think he performed that badly. I think he showed some good things, but also showed that he's going to need a little work to get back to where he is supposed to be, and where he wants to be - and where all fans want him to be.
And I have to give the Bears Defense credit. I feel that they played really well. They shut down Joseph Addai like I have never seen before. 44 yards of our 53 rushing yards are Addai. Both numbers are pathetic. Again, I don't think the offensive line did a good job of creating holes and gaps for Addai.
And our defense SUCKED. Plain and simple. We had some good hits, and it was good to see Bob Sanders running and hitting like a maniac - but it just wasn't enough. The Bears just ran too well for us to stop. Matt Forte just went off, and was impossible for our guys to stop. They executed their game plan perfectly, and it was effective against us.
Leaving the game, I learned justhow annoying the Bears fans were. There were too many in the stadium, in my opinion, and they were just obnoxious and annoying. I don't include my friends Jae or Stacy in this group - they weren't part of the drunken morons I had to deal with last night.
It was a disappointing day, and a really bummer for the Colts. I'm really scared about next weekend and Adrian Peterson. If Matt Forte can run like that against us, I can't even imagine what Peterson can do against us. I'm going to have to figure out something to make sure I can watch the game. Since the 2003 season, I have not missed watching a Colts game live on television. I hope to find a place in Munich to watch the game. Worst case scenerio, I will find an internet cafe and watch the gamecast of the game. Hopefully, with another week of practice, more and more of the rust and cobwebs can be shaken off, and everyone can work at getting back into a nice flow together. I believe things are going to get better, and at least the early loss teaches us to never take our wins for granted, and to make it back to the Super Bowl this season, we have a lot of work that we are going to have to do.
The AFC really changed yesterday.
The Colts lost.
The Chargers lost.
And the Patriots have lost their quarterback, mostly likely for the reast of the season.
The Steelers looked good.
The Jets looked good.
The Bills looked good.
It's going to be an interesting season to watch...
Finally, as we were walking back to the car, I overheard someone make this moronic comment:
"This is what happens when we change arenas. The Pacers leave Market Square Arena, and now they suck - the Colts leave the Dome, and now they are going to suck."
IDIOT. I can't believe someone would say something like that. First, because its one Colts game. Second, because they are WRONG.
Conseco Fieldhouse opened in 1999. It was the 1999-2000 season that the Pacers FINALLY made it to the NBA Finals. NEVER did they make it there while playing in Market Square Arena, and they only made it to the ABA Finals when playing in the Pepsi Coliseum. So, to say that they Pacers sucked after moving to Conseco is idiotic. Now, if he doesn't like the Pacers, and doesn't remember the season we won 61 games in the 2003-04 season. That doesn't sound like a team that sucks to me. Have the always under-performed? Sure, maybe you can say that. And we have had some bad seasons, but I would never claim that they have sucked since moving into Conseco Fieldhouse. Sorry, I needed to vent about that moronic statement.
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