This is obviously not a sports blog, but today I have a few things to say. I actually had a few things to say a few weeks ago when this all happened, but this is the first time I've been able to say them.
I'm a proud Colts fan. I'm sad Peyton is gone. I cried during his press conference. As I thought about why it matters to me so much, I realized a few things. Of all of the seasons that Peyton was our quarterback, I only lived in Indianapolis for one of them, and only lived in Indiana for five of them. It has been my experience that living a distance from a sports team only increases your love of them. Time and effort is put into being able to watch the games - whether it is going to a sports bar, getting a sling box, or even having a family member set up a webcam and skype so you can watch off of their TV. Colts colors are worn more proudly, because it isn't just a team that you are advertising, it is your home state - a state that you love and miss. There is a great deal of pride when your home state does well, because for once, the whole world is talking about your state, the place that your brain talks about all the time.
What a wonderful honor it was to have Manning as a part of that home state's team. We happened to move to the town where Dungy had left from. People like both of those guys here. I can't tell you how many conversations were started with complete strangers because of the Colts. Most of the conversations were positive - you couldn't really say anything bad about either of them. We moved to Florida from a state full of corn. It was so cool to have that no name corn state talked about frequently on national sports news, and talked about highly. That was because of Peyton. Before we had a slingbox, we could count on at least getting to watch 4 or 5 colts games a season because of Peyton and the way the nation followed him. He put Indiana on the nation's map - and it was just nice to have people know a little bit about a huge part of us, all because of football.
We will miss him....and yes, we will keep missing Indiana and the corn and the people...that goes without saying.
On a related Indiana sports note. When you live far away from the people and state you love, you begin to cheer for any team that is related to that state...even teams that just have players on them from that state. Any hatred for teams in that state that you didn't grow up cheering for kind of fades away. It is about pride in your state, not just your school. You want other people to like and talk about your state too. So, I will be cheering for the Hoosiers, as my husband also cheers for Purdue (as long as they aren't playing each other).
Hi, Laura I just read your post (via A Holy Experience) and I truly relate with love for the Colts and Indiana. We, too, moved to Florida from northern Indiana in 1996. My husband was a pastor in West Lafayette for 18 yrs and Purdue is his school (although he's a Michigan grad), but our money went to Purdue when one of our daughters was there. Sadly, at this writing both Indiana and Purdue are out but basketball just isn't the same in Florida as it is in Indiana, is it? Beginning with the night before Thanksgiving for high school basketball to start through March life is good with football and basketball. We miss Indiana (not the winters) but the seasons and festivals, especially ones in small towns. So welcome to Florida (we're on the east coast) and let's pray Peyton doesn't get hurt further and cause some really serious damage. Diane
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