LAST year was supposed to be the Colts' year. They started out 13-0, and looked like they might be the first team to go 16-0. But they peaked too early, and were one and done in the playoffs.
They weren't as good this year. In December, they endured a stretch where they lost 3 out of 4, with all 3 losses coming against teams in their own division. That's kind of hard to believe. The Super Bowl Champs have lost their last meeting with each and every member of the division they play in. That has to be a first.
Yet, somehow, the Colts were the best when it counted. In all situations, they remained calm. When they trailed the AFC Championship game 21-6, they didn't panic. When they fell behind on the very first play of the Super Bowl, and again later in the first quarter, they seemed unfazed.
This Colts team had failed so many times in the past, and so many times in this very season, that they seemed unafraid of failing again. No matter what the situation, they stuck to their gameplan. They never looked as if they were pressing. They approached each postseason game with the thought in mind that they knew exactly what they wanted to do for the next 60 minutes of football, and felt that if they did what they were supposed to do, they could and would win.
This team has taken a lot of heat over the last few years for underachieving. It's been said that they're soft, it's been said they lack the heart and fire needed to be champions. It's been said that the calm demeanor of their coach and quarterback were keeping them from succeeding in the blood and guts postseason. But this year, in a year where they were not the best team in the postseason, they proved the axiom that if you can keep your head when all around you are losing theirs, you'll succeed, and now, they're champions.
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