I'm a Colts fan. The first jersey I ever bought was Hardbaugh's #4. My biggest football regret was being out of town during the SB Parade. I'd have happily stood outside in the 10 degree weather to have watched that. Seeing Reggie push Marvin back up to the mic was great even on TV though.

I do like Peyton though, it's been fun watching him and I hope his career isn't over (I'd bet on him coming back fully healthy, but that might be roseglassesdog.jpg).

Ok, what odds to you give that outcome. Feel free to ballpark

And when, ultimate Colts fan, does that point happen?

If you knew with 100% certainty that the Colts wouldn't win the SB, would you hope they'd lose enough to get the #1 pick (esp. now with the reduced salary)?

What odds do you give the Colts to win the SB this year? Isn't there a point for you where you realistically accept that winning is so unlikely (and losing for a short time has a really decent reward) that it's best to take the Cubs line and say "There's always next year"?

Easy tiger, there's plenty to root for. I hope Reggie, Clark and Collie continue to do well and prove their talent independent of Peyton. I hope Mathis and Freeney get their sacks and the rest of the defense pulls it together and proves they can play from ahead AND behind (they will at some point, they aren't as bad as they've been).

I just can't see any reasonable way that the Colts contend for a SB. If they can't, I'm much less interested in rooting for a .005% chance of Hoosiers 2: This Time it's Personal and much more interested in seeing the Colts get a player that might allow them to do well for another decade.

I mean I don't even know how sort of hoping that they win 2 or fewer games would actually manifest itself in relation to "no longer being a Colts fan".

Answer some questions for us, Richard, to see if you actually will be "less of a fan" this year.

1) What % dropoff in TV viewing time of Colts games and Colts-related television (as well as maybe local sports radio listening) do you anticipate for 2011 as compared to like your average over the last 3 years?

2) What % dropoff in money spent on tickets/concessions/memorabilia, etc. do you anticipate for 2011?

3) If they are like 2-12 and tied with a couple other teams with worst record and winning that 15th game like 21-3 at half-time are you gonna get pissed off and turn it off?

4) Do you anticipate fewer/less-quality posts itt related to the Colts in 2011?

And any other questions you can answer that might help determine if you actually will be "less of a fan" this year.

I mean I just think that secretly hoping for a bad short-term results to facilitate a good long-term result doesn't necessarily make you less of a fan.

An actual bad fan would be some idiot blindly hoping for like a 9-7 season but at the same time being like "I ain't watchin' this garbage this year".

Come on, man, that picture is awesome. It's a dog! With glasses!

I literally have no idea what to expect from the Colts going forward. Even with the Patriots losing Brady in 2008, you could still expect that Belichick could move parts around and find ways to compensate, and even if they struggled early, they would not completely collapse. I have no idea at all if Caldwell has any clue what he's doing, if the team will figure it out as the season goes on, or what. They could get the hang of it and be competitive; they could absolutely crater out.

Well, I watched all of their first game, so I'm on track to finish even with the last 3 years. I don't expect to watch any less than 100% of their games, just like I have in the past.

Zero. I'll prob try to go to one or two games this year (buddy of mine has 4 season tickets. Upper section, 40 yard line ). I'll still gorge myself on burgers or whatever while I'm there.

No, I'd probably keep watching the hopes Collins eats a big bowl of Fumbalaya at halftime.

From me? Probably not. That's more a reflection on my feeling that it's hard for me to get much worse than I already am ITT than my expectation that I'll be posting less.

Oh I'll be watching, hoping Peyton gets better, and hoping the Colts are able to pick up a good draft pick this year.

So if we judge you using the "judge what I do, not what I say" then it sounds like you are still basically the same fan as you have been. Like I said, even if you hope for a 2-14 year, it doesn't really manifest itself in any way that the organization would feel affected.

I'm not ashamed to say that sometime last year I made a conscious decision to NOT spend money on the Astros because I thought their FO was completely incompetent. Maybe that makes me "not a fan", maybe it doesn't - I don't care. I just don't understand the blind loyalty mantra of being some minion for a team merely because they play in the same city you live. It's gonna be hard not to catch a game though by the time the year is over though, as I heard they are selling box seats for $15 b/c nobody goes to the game anymore. They even lost their local FS-SW contract so I really don't ever get to see them play anymore. I see more Rangers than Astros. That redneck idiot owner of theirs finally sold, too, so that is a step in the right direction.

Actually with all this said my wife and I did go to one game early this year (she wanted to so I wasn't gonna take some stand against her lol) and we ended up dropping $120 or something ridiculous so they got something out of me even during my moral stand.

phb, on an unrelated note, Rany Jazayerli has a pretty good Grantland column today on what's gone wrong with the Astros. Nothing groundbreaking if you follow them, but a pretty succinct summation of problems that really seem obvious in hindsight (and some in foresight, lol Ed Wade).

Nice article. I hope people were writing articles like that when he was still the owner, b/c that guy certainly didn't let Drayton off the hook but somehow I doubt it. I didn't realize Dierker was considered a SABR guy.

The article is not as good as it could be though because it doesn't mention my least favorite Astro of all-time, Miguel Tejada, and the albatross that that dude was. How the **** do you go from having Gerry Hunsicker GMing your team to Tim Purpura!? Sigh. Oh well, I know the Texans won't lose 109 games this year...

Grabbin a roadie for the drive to Lucas Oil! Lord help our Colts.

He's going to be to busy getting Tim Tebow into the game today. Sorry.

Eh hem....

Josh McClown.

Can't believe Tenn won today.

Foster hurt again - Tate goes for 100+

Mario continues to look good in the 3-4 w/ a pass deflection and a hit on Henne's arm which caused an easy INT.

Texans have allowed 20 points total in two games. Feels kinda nice.

Noodle after today:


Me after today:

I hate Polian with all my heart.

+1 this is great

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com...atter-of-days/

Please god, one time!!!!

Bring back Tony Mandarich too

PHB for polian imo

13 more to go. Prob gonna beat KC tho

I heard Polian is on the phone with JaMarcus.

"Oh **** our defense is playing great, we might win. Quick: inform Collins he has a concussion"

Brilliant.

Texans elite defense not so elite or Saints unstoppable?

Texans gonna Texans. Losing in the blood.

both

defense "held" the Saints for 3 quarters, couldn't get off the field on 3rd down though.

Colts actually looked decent tonight in a few key spots. Run D showed up, but we'll have a see that more than one week to see if the younger guys are for real.

O-Line looks like it's coming together and starting to actually *gasp* run block a little bit. Collins and Painter are sitting ducks, but Peyton likely doesn't take more than one sack tonight.