For the last decade, this week has been special. It would crawl by as I fantasized about the NFL’s two premier quarterbacks taking turns showcasing their skills. The names on the back of the jerseys were familiar at every position and the matchups intriguing. Plus, there was a bad guy – a hooded nemesis. It was Colts/Pats week and Sunday was sure to be an emotional roller coaster.
Then last year happened. Everything changed. It felt like watching a group of replacements. That led to things getting shaken up and when it was over my football savior was living a mile high (where he seems to have adapted well).
Our gift for enduring that gut-wrenching season? How about the top pick in the draft and a quarterback who carried an earily similar lineage. He was a student of the game from a football family who had the intellect and physical gifts you’d program into a quarterback prototype.
Still, we’d have to be patient. In time, he just might return us to our former reality and we would again be dreaming about double-digit wins and playoff glory.
Well, it appears the timeline has accelerated. Winning is upon us and Andrew Luck is helping lead a group of Colts that is increasingly explosive on offense and scrappy on defense. There have been occasional reminders of their youth, but they are driven by the inspiration of Coach Chuck Pagano (#CHUCKSTRONG) to win, win, win.
We are now, amazingly, 6 and 3. We are going to Foxboro for a meaningful game with our arch rivals, the New England Patriots. When the season started I would have marked this as a loss. As I look back, it seems I was wrong about a lot of things. The sky is the limit and it is, again, sweet to be a Colts fan.
Below are a few of my favorite picks for places in Indy to gather with Colts bretheren and watch the game this weekend:
- Colts Grill – the name kinda says it all
- Kilroy’s – downtown and new location in Broad Ripple
- Rock Bottom Brewery – roomy with wood-fired pizzas
- Scotty’s Brewhouse/Lakehouse/Thr3e Wise Men – dill chips and craft brews
- Tavern on South – practically in the shadow of Lucas Oil Stadium
