As if this season wasn't already bad enough for Indianapolis Colts fans like me, it just got even worse. The New England Patriots are playing in Super Bowl XLVI in our home stadium. I feel nauseous.
Bill Belichick (shown here back before he started dressing like a homeless person) and the New England Patriots are coming to Indianapolis for Super Bowl XLVI. Barf.
Wikimedia Commons
For the next two weeks, you won't find a bigger New York Giants fan in Indianapolis.
I was rooting with every fiber of my soul for the Baltimore Ravens to win the AFC Championship game. While I enjoy watching Ray Rice and Ray Lewis play, and I think Joe Flacco takes more grief than he deserves, I'm not a Ravens fan. I don't dislike them, either, but I wanted them to win for no other reason than to keep our bitter arch-rivals out of our city during Super Bowl XLVI.
Things were going fine until the Ravens' last two possessions. They had played a great game up to that point, kept Tom Brady in check, and had the Super Bowl within their grasp. And then there were four gut-wrenching plays that sent Bill Belichick and that stupid grey hoodie to Indianapolis.
Poor Decision No. 1
The Ravens had the ball on their second-to-last possession, 4th and 6 on New England's 33 with 2:46 left to play, down 23-20. It would be about a 50-yard field goal attemptâ€"not easy by any stretch of the imagination, but pretty doable by NFL kicker standards.
Instead, the Ravens inexplicably went for the first down instead of attempting the field goal, and with a Patriot wrapped around his waist, Flacco threw some wobbly thing that was nowhere near a Raven. Baltimore turns it over on downs without even attempting to tie the game.
Bad Play No. 1
The Ravens held the Patriots to a three-and-out on their ensuing possession, got the ball back after a punt, and drove down the field as the clock wound down. On 2nd and 1 on the Patriots' 14-yard-line with :22 left to play, Flacco hit Lee Evans on a nice pass in the end zone. TOUCHDOWN! The Patriots are dead! Woo hoo! Rejoice in Indianapolis!
But no. Defensive back Sterling Moore knocked the ball out of Evans' hands, and it fell harmlessly to the turf. You have got to be kidding me!
In many ways, the play reminded me of the 1995 AFC Championship game when, for a few seconds, I thought Jim Harbaugh had completed the Hail Mary to Aaron Bailey against the Pittsburgh Steelers. It was almost that agonizing to watch the ball get swatted out of Evans' grasp.
Poor Decision No. 2
On the very next play, Flacco dropped back to pass. The pocket collapsed around him, and he had to scramble. I thought he realized that he was only a yard away from a first down, and that the nearest Patriot defender was about 3 yards away. It would take one, maybe two, strides to pick up the first down. Piece of cake.
But Flacco pulled up and threw an incompletion, instead. I let out a string of expletives that would have curdled milk.
Bad Play No. 2
Well, after those two bone-headed plays, at least the Ravens would tie the game up and force overtime. Maybe they'll win the coin flip, score a touchdown, and keep those freakin' Patriots out of Indianapolis. I mean, come on. Who misses a 32-yard field goal from the middle of the field?
Billy Cundiff does, that's who. Just like that, the Ravens snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
Now we have to entertain our most hated rival and its fans for Super Bowl XLVI, smiling through clenched teeth. We have to see those blasted Patriots jerseys all over our town. We may have to watch the NFL hand over the Lombardi Trophy to New Freakin' England in Lucas Oil Stadium.
I think I may be sick.
As if the 2-14 season wasn't bad enough. As if not having Peyton Manning all yearâ€"and quite possibly ever againâ€"wasn't bad enough. Our front office has been gutted, our head coach has been fired, and we may be losing pillars of our team in Jeff Saturday and Reggie Wayne in the offseason.
Have we not suffered enough?! What have we done to anger the football gods in such a way that they send the (expletive) Patriots to us for Super Bowl XLVI?!
Conspiracy Theory
You know what I think this was? I think this was payback by Baltimore. The city, not the team. They've waited for this opportunity since we stole their Colts in the dead of night in 1984 (for the sake of this self-pitying rant, we'll just ignore the fact that they turned around and stole the Cleveland Browns in 1996). Revenge is a dish best served cold, after all, and Baltimorians have been stewing over the whole Mayflower truck thing for 28 years. Indianapolis would never see this one coming, Baltimore thought.
They were right.
How else do you explain two terrible decisions, allowing the ball to get knocked out of your arms in the end zone, and missing a chip-shot field goal, all in less than three minutes? You can't! It's a conspiracy, I say! A conspiracy!
And now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to put my tinfoil hat back on so that the aliens can't read my thoughts, take my medication, curl up in the fetal position, and cry myself to sleep.
The author is a resident of central Indiana and a Featured Contributor in Sports for the Yahoo! Contributor Network. You can follow him on Twitter at @RedZoneWriting and on Facebook.
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