Colts Complainers Are Nothing More Than Fair-Weather Fans

So many people were pissed off yesterday about the Indianapolis Colts loss that 2nd string QB Curtis Painter was one of Twitter's top trending topics.

For those of you who missed the game, head coach Jim Caldwell pulled the starters after the first half and put in the 2nd string players.

They promptly lost to the New York Jets, 29 - 15.

The Colts were on the verge of achieving a perfect season, and they lost it with their 2nd team. To the freaking New York Jets, a team so bad that, you know what, make your own "sucks out loud" joke. We should have won, we should have had the perfect season, and we certainly should have beat the New York "What're YOU Lookin' Ats?!"

But frankly, I don't care. It didn't matter. This was a meaningless game, and I don't care if we got a perfect record.

But I'm in the minority. So much so, that some of the other Twitter trending topics were probably "f---ing #Colts" and "f---ing Caldwell."

After the game, I tweeted The #Colts fair weather fans who are cursing the team for losing: You're not allowed to be pro-Colts during the playoffs.



Surprisingly, this didn't raise a lot of hackles. I got a few responses from people who said, "I'm not a fair weather fan. I'm just disappointed/frustrated/annoyed."

Now, I'm not pointing fingers at people who were upset. I don't mind complainers or people who are frustrated that the Colts didn't make their perfect season. I have no problem with people who hated the loss or are disappointed that the Colts won't go 16 – 0 this season. I'm one of them.

This post is not about you.

But the people who were angry — absolutely foaming-at-the-mouth pissed — that Caldwell pulled the starters, were merciless that the Colts lost a game, are not true fans.

They're whining on the fan forums that Caldwell should be fired, that Bill Polian is an idiot for hiring him, and Saint Dungy would have never, ever rested his starters for the last few weeks of the season. (Actually, he did it in 2005 and 2006.)

They're nothing more than fair weather fans.

Look, people, we're 23 – 1. We haven't lost a game since last year. We're first in the division, and we've got the home field advantage. We can lose this game and the next one, and it won't mean a thing.

I've been a Colts fan since they showed up here in 1984. I cheered for them when they were 1 – 15 in 1991, and 4 - 12 in 1992. When they could only manage a 9 – 6 field goal wins over the Cincinnati Bengals and the... wait for it... New York Jets. I cheered for them when I couldn't see the games on TV, but had to listen to them on a staticky AM radio station out of Fort Wayne. I cheered for them when Bob Lamey's only game highlights were a Dean Biasucci field goal or an Eric Dickerson first down.

If you're angry about a single loss, grow up. This team is not about you. You're not a player. You're not a coach. You have no clue what's going on in the minds of the coaches, or why they make their decisions. I don't either, but I at least recognize that fact. I assume the coaches are making the best decisions they can.

Tony Dungy said on NBC's "Sunday Night Football" broadcast, "They can't play for everybody else. They have to get ready for the playoffs. You have an obligation to win a Super Bowl, not to go undefeated."

So, if you're so angry about the fact that the Colts didn't want to risk injuring Peyton Manning or Dallas Clark, vent away. If you think the Colts should give refunds to players, because "Coach Quitwell" phoned it in in the second half, you're entitled to your own misguided opinion.

Just keep in mind you're not a pro player, you're not a pro coach, you've never taken a professional snap. You're a second-string Monday morning quarterback whose football insights probably came from John Clayton, an ESPN football analyst who was probably the backup "manager" for his high school football team. You truly have no clue as to what the coaches should or should not have done.

But you're probably also the first people who would have whined that Coach Caldwell should have pulled the starters if Peyton Manning broke a bone in his throwing hand playing in the 4th quarter of "an unnecessary game."

You're failing to see the big picture: the Colts need to stay healthy so they can make it through the playoffs. The Colts can't risk an injury to their star players just so a bunch of fans with an overdeveloped sense of entitlement can claim support of a team they probably didn't support when the times were lean. Fans who were nowhere to be found when Jeff George couldn't make a first down pass during halftime.

So, if you bitched and whined that the Colts gave up or that Coach Caldwell should be fired, you're nothing more than fair-weather fans. You're not allowed to cheer for the Colts in the playoffs. If they disappointed you that much Sunday afternoon, the real fans don't want you. We don't need you. Go cheer for the Bengals or the Chargers.

Because with fans like you, who needs the Patriots?

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