Know Your Colts History: The 5 stages of Super Bowl loss grief
by Jake Whitacre on Feb 13, 2010 12:00 AM EST
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As a fan, losing a championship game is the most painful experience one can go through. Watching a team fail after coming so tantalizingly close to becoming a champion is an experience that is best left to the imagination. Unfortunately, none of us have had to imagine since Sunday night. Coping with pain like this is never easy, but I'm here to help you navigate your way through the worst part of the storm.
Denial
If we're honest with ourselves, most of us began the denial process during the 3rd or 4th quarter, depending on your level of self-loathing. At this point, we have all experienced tough playoff losses and we can usually spot the signs of a loss before it happens, even as we root for the opposite to happen. All of those little mistakes that we swear to ourselves won't come back to hurt us at the end of the game keep piling up and piling up until finally the Colts make one mistake that can not be overcome...
Anger
There is no point in repeating what you said after Tracy Porter made that interception. You likely revealed a dark, dark side of yourself through what you said in the seconds after that fateful pass. You probably wish you could take back most, if not all of what you said right about now. Hopefully, you were surrounded by Colts fans who empathized with your pain, in which case no apologies are necessary. If you weren't alone during this stage of grief, you may want to consider buying some apology notes for those around you during that time of emotional vulnerability. Also, if you broke any furniture during this tender moment, you should probably reimburse them for their damages. And yes, gorging yourself on your neighbor's buffet counts as damages. If you consumed more than $5 worth of food within the half-hour following the interception, you should probably buy them a food item of equal value.
Bargaining
There is nothing wrong with bargaining, so long as it is done within reason. Telling yourself that Peyton Manning is still one of the finest quarterbacks in the history of the NFL and believing the Colts will have another good shot at winning it all next season with a healthy Bob Sanders and Anthony Gonzalez are examples of good bargaining. Printing homemade Indianapolis Colts Super Bowl XLIV Champions T-shirts because you think Saints cheated by secretly employing Hank Baskett does not count as good bargaining.
Depression
This is the longest and most difficult stage of grief. The Colts won't play another meaningful game until September. That means there's no chance for the Colts to vindicate themselves and our emotions for another seven months. Hopefully you have other avenues to cope with this depression because going through depression for seven months isn't realistic or healthy. If you don't have a basketball or baseball team to invest yourself into, consider spending more time with your family. Hey, that's what they're there for, right?
Acceptance
I'll help you with this part once I get there.
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Acceptance ??
I think that its gonna be so hard to move on…. But.. Maybe if our GM do something great in Free Agency and/or draft.. i could move from depression to Bargaining quiclky…!!!
Well...
If you consumed more than $5 worth of food within the half-hour following the interception, you should probably buy them a food item of equal value.
What if you threw up that much of their food within the half-second of the pick?
------
"How can a pickup truck contain enough mass to unfold into a towering machine? I say if Ringling Brothers can get 15 clowns into a Volkswagen, anything is possible."
It depends
If you threw up on hardwood, just mop it up and everything should be fine. If it happened on a carpet, that might be a little trickier.
Bullets Forever: A blog dedicated to the Washington Wizards with analysis, commentary, and more YouTube videos than your eyes can handle.
by Jake Whitacre on Feb 13, 2010 10:29 AM EST up reply actions
Or what if you didn't eat for 24 hours between the pre-game and the next day?
I couldn’t eat during the game, nerves and all. I couldn’t eat after the game because I felt sick to my stomach
"Fans are the only ones who really care. There are no free-agent fans." - Dick Young
you forgot the sixth one
bringing shit up, i had totally forgot about the superbowl till i saw this in that front page
by 805 on Feb 13, 2010 1:46 AM EST reply actions
I think i Skipped
the first 3. I was depressed. Then went to acceptance when my Boiler homerism kicked in and sided with Brees
See Ball, Get Ball. Quarterback Has Ball, Sack Him.
by 7_Painter's_First_Fan on Feb 13, 2010 1:55 AM EST reply actions
Tell Me Something I Don't Already Know!~~
Sorry for the caps, but in case you hadn’t noticed I’m still a little frustrated about losing. Our players are better than their players and it drives me crazy to lose. anyway…..one thing I think is important is to recognize opportunity. Take the opportunity to seize greatness. I’m more proud of this year’s team than any other team. Far better than the 2006 team, they just ran into a wall this year. H E A R T. this year. More heart than any other year—and that bodes well for our future – and not so well for our oppenents. I think it’s important to play well in our home game against San Diego next season, that will set the tone for the Season…make my words we need to play well in that game
Our strongest competition
in the 2010 season is the Chargers. The rest of the teams will crumble, including the Pats. if we play well agsinst SD, everyone else will fall…
The Chargers are gonna get wrecked in free agency
They certainly won’t be any better than they were this year. The Steelers, meanwhile, will be Super Bowl contenders if we can stay somewhat healthy.
Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever.
Napoleon Bonaparte
Stampede Blue's Resident Steelers Fan
"[T]he Steelers have been evil pieces of crap for a long time who play dirty and seek to injure their opponents, and one day there will be a reckoning."
FriarBob
Can't you just feel the love?
by LV Steelers Fan on Feb 13, 2010 3:31 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
You don't get to face us until the playoffs though.
We’ll worry about that when we get there.
"I am in favor of censorship ‐ not against what is supposed to be sexy or dirty, but against what is idiotic." -Jean Renoir
Random fact of the week from the empty void that is my mind: Even though the Colts lost, it was a good season. Random facts will resume next week when I recover.
I'm very depressed
And unlikely Painter’s 1st Fan, I’m not a Purdue to cheer for a Brees ring, and I’m not that emotional guy to cheer for a victory of New Orleans while it’s just a franchise victory. Anyway… I just hope that in 7 months, my soccer team gives me many joys just like the Colts this year during the regular season, but still, I hope they finish any championships with a victory, cause any loss hurts too much
Quitters never win, but cheaters sometimes do
what do u expect.. the world cup..??
what is you favorite team.??
Trooly's from Brazil IIRC
"Fans are the only ones who really care. There are no free-agent fans." - Dick Young
I root for Brazil (of course)
And Fluminense. The last one isn’t so capable of getting too many prizes, but at least Brazil is always a strong contender to the World Cup
Quitters never win, but cheaters sometimes do
Great Article
I think this article says everything that is to be said about the situation – truths with good humor – and we will come out the other side eventually.
Mike
Denial
I wonder if it could really be denial If Manning has done multi-possession comebacks in three minutes? I guess it is since he didn’t…but I was in some pretty sweet denial when he was leading that final drive. As he was leading it, I was only thinking about the onside kick that was to come. That was all that was on my mind.
I'm in the depression mode
but only when I think about the game. When I’m consumed with work/school/out and about/open threads I let my mind wander away from what could’ve been.
"Fans are the only ones who really care. There are no free-agent fans." - Dick Young
Im watching every last event of the winter olympics. watching the canadians be the perfect hosts with no agenda of saviorism or politics involved. the anti poor me opponent. they have nothing to gain and just want to win! its perfect timing
watch the upper portion of the world be friendly because thats just who they are. they arent important to the media. the media wants controversy and drama like in the south and its ever present daily violence and catstrophes….its just canada and athletes like norweigians and the land of reindeer! canadians are proclaimed too boring. its the perfect getaway. watch athletes who mostly come from obscure lands and dont need the media to save them or write about them.
Anger
This came for me at the onsides kickoff. I yelled out a particularly ugly four letter expletive and simultaneously bounced my Nerf Colts football literally up and over the near-ceiling-high bookcase. Required that I move furniture out of the way to retrieve it, after which they still hadn’t determined possession.
How can you not love a team that does this?
i threw my colts nerf football at the tv at the exact same time
:)
As long as we have Peyton (and no surprise gay onside kicks are made) we will always have a chance to win.
Four letter expletive?
did that particular expletive involve explosives?
"I am in favor of censorship ‐ not against what is supposed to be sexy or dirty, but against what is idiotic." -Jean Renoir
Random fact of the week from the empty void that is my mind: Even though the Colts lost, it was a good season. Random facts will resume next week when I recover.
amen
I will be fighting off my depression with fifa ’10 this summer. Hopefully my German team can pull off a gold.
Im still in Denial
The Colts are the better team. The Saints proved that the Colts are better by not kicking off to them to begin the half. I believe in my heart that if the Saints kick off the ball normally then the Colts win. Sure I know the Colts lost. But in my mind they are the better team because the Saints didn’t kick off to the Colts because they were scared. The Saints knew the Colts were better and had to pull some f**king bullshit out of their ass to win that game.
Writing this made me mad. I apologize for the language near the end
As long as we have Peyton (and no surprise gay onside kicks are made) we will always have a chance to win.
I understand the anger... been there myself.
But them pulling a surprise onside kick is no different than Peyton changing the play because of what the defense gives him… or the Offense lining up and quick snapping to catch the defense with 12 men on the field.
They saw our special teams cheating back and took advantage. It was risky, but gusty as well… Much like Belichick going for it on fourth and 2, except this time it worked!
I agree with you in that i believe if the Colts and Saints play 10 games on a neutral site, the Colts win 6-8 of them. But to condemn them for the onside kick call is akin to calling Peyton’s proclivity to quick snap ‘bush league’ (which i’ve read on this very blog, by the way).
They saw an opportunity, measuree the risk, and took it. That one decision might have won them the game.
That one decision DID win the game in my mind
You cant win a game on a quick snap. Peyton doesn’t quick snap because hes afraid or because we might lose if he doesn’t. The onside kick was brilliant…..bullshit but brilliant. If they dont make that kick then we win, simple.
You cant change my mind. Please dont waste your time :)
As long as we have Peyton (and no surprise gay onside kicks are made) we will always have a chance to win.
skipped right to step 4
I rarely if ever go through the denial and barginning phases, but surprisingly, my only point of anger was on the lance moore call, once porter’s play heppened, my initial reaction was “well, at least the bullshit call is moot now.” Then I sank in to a depression for days. Now I’m normal, until I see or hear things about the game, then it brings me back under again
by Colts Live Free or Die! on Feb 13, 2010 10:16 PM EST reply actions
The
God damn Superbowl cost me my friendship with the girl I like and now she hates me.
by BlueKrew on Feb 14, 2010 3:49 AM EST via mobile reply actions
Seriously..
I’m so fucked.
God dam Colts.
by BlueKrew on Feb 16, 2010 2:29 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
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