This is now a Colts blog.
Why, you ask? Well, fucking because. I already delved into the personal side of this. What, you weren’t reading?
And though you might think that launching an NFL blog devoted to one team is tired and superfluous ( I would actually argue that the NFL defines superfluous), but then, I would counter by arguing, “Have you actually read Stampede Blue?”
Bleah. You know why the NFL’s great? Because it’s finite, it’s fun, and it’s easy to digest and follow with minimal investment. That’s who we are as fans. That puts NFL bloggers in a difficult position, because (a) there’s no way to compensate for weeks of dead periods without manufacturing phony, argumentative opinions about the smallest of minutiae, or (b) it’s difficult to gloss over anything without painting yourself as uninterested or uninformed.
Anyway, I’m overthinking this. I’m not starting wars here, not refuting either conventional wisdom or ridiculous straw men.
(By the way, does it seem like more and more writers attempt to argue something by saying “People are saying and thinking this,” and then launching into a counterargument? I blame Twitter for this. Writers are notoriously detached from actual, popular opinion, and when they attempt to crystallize a zeitgeist, they’re basically regurgitating a view they saw in one other place. Unless they’re Football Outsiders, then they’re scolding us for not mentioning the Giants never should have won the 2008 Super Bowl. )
Rather, the blog is going to be totally NFL because it’s totally casual. It’s going to fill a niche because there’s room for rational commentary on a pro team that’s not totally homerism, nor inflammatory minutiae. There’s an audience in between “casual, uniformed fan,” “mouth-breathing NFL homer,” and “nutty one-dimensional fantasy freak.” There’s just gotta be.
Besides, I’m up for this. I like the Colts, I’m proud of their success and proud to be a fan, and I don’t care what or if you think about it. I’ve already been writing and tweeting about our heroes for nearly seven years. My qualifications:
- I jumped on the Colts bandwagon when they drafted Marvin Harrison. I’m not from Indy, I’m from Iowa. As a kid, I was a 49ers fan, and also a Syracuse fan. I was ashamed rooting for the Niners because they won too much, and I worried everyone would think I was a bandwagon fan. See, even as a kid, I was a self-absorbed asshole. After a period of six or seven years in no-man’s land, rooting for Harrison seemed a logical extension.
- You might now wonder why I liked Syracuse. Answer is here. You might wonder why it was Harrison, and why I didn’t translate my admiration of Qadry Ismail to a fandom of the Minnesota Vikings. Well, it’s because I grew up in Iowa, and I hated being part of any crowd. I digress.
- I detested Peyton Manning, as a Colts fan, and thought they won in spite of him for his first five years. Now I exhibit a tremendous amount of pride in seeing that he actually has become as good as advertised. He’s great. However, I don’t believe he’s above reproach. Does that make me unique?
- Bob Sanders is a beast.
- The Colts love Iowa and Syracuse players. They drafted Pat Angerer this year. It’s almost like I’m running the show.
- Despite being Marvin Harrison’s most ardent fan (Gulps loudly), I was the first Colts fan to successfully realize Reggie Wayne was our No. 1 and Harrison our No. 2. I have no evidence to support this.
I suppose there’s more, but you get the gist. Dismiss me if you want, but this is my team. These are my Colts. I’m proud to be a fan, and excited to write about them.
If you want rational commentary on the Colts and their supporting cast, then this is the place to be. If you want diehard, life-or-death, sky-is-falling homerism, I suggest you go somewhere else. Until then, welcome to Coltsplosion 2010. Welcome to Mister Faded Glory.
