No, the title is not there simply to garner attention.
Bill Polian is a genius in the draft room and at evaluating talent. However, as a public relations man, which is one of the essential responsibilities of the Present of the Indianapolis Colts, Bill Polian is a complete and utter failure. These are the quotes from Polian after the game, courtesy of the NFL:
TEAM PRESIDENT BILL POLIAN (on how tough is that call when you’re ahead in the game and you have a perfect season): "The perfect season was never an issue with us. We’ve said it time and time and time again. It is somebody else’s issue, not ours. That was of no concern."TEAM PRESIDENT BILL POLIAN (on it seeming to be the fans issue): "Well, I understand that, but it doesn’t mean that it is ours."
So, to you fans that braved inches of snow and heavy winds to watch your then-undefeated Colts possibly win a game and move to 15-0 only to see the team pull starters for no acceptable reason, Bill Polian says screw you.
To you fans who shelled out hundreds of dollars to watch the game, and you other fans who shelled out thousands of dollars for season tickets during a recession only to see the team quit and hand the game to the Jets, Bill Polian says screw you.
To the the residents of Indiana, who paid hundreds of millions in taxpayer money to fund Lucas Oil Stadium, only to watch the coaches quit on a game that was very winnable... yeah, pretty much the same as the last two.
Basically, in two simple phrases, the "issues" of fans (you know, the customers who watch the team and pay for the stadium and all that) are not the issues of the Colts and Bill Polian. Whatever problems you silly little peons might have with your team throwing a game and crapping away a chance at football immortality, they are pretty much reading a blank on the Bill Polian radar. For you French history enthusiasts out there, Bill Polian just told the peasants to eat cake.
Thanks Bill. Appreciate it.
Bill Polian just dug his own grave. If the Colts do not win the Super Bowl this year after resting players and throwing a game they should have won, fans will scream for him to be removed as president of the team. I shudder to think what fans will do if Indy goes one-and-done, again. Polian would be run out of town. Yes, I'm dead serious. I know Indiana and I know how Hoosiers think. The fans wanted the Colts to play to win. They expected it. They'd watched the Colts do it against the Jaguars and, after ten days of rest, they expected the team to do the same thing again. Instead, fans that paid good money to see a truly competitive football game were essentially spit on by the Colts organization.
Polian's arrogance and his dismissal of fan concerns nearly got him fired in 2001, among other things. What saved his career in Indy, and likely his reputation, was Tony Dungy. Dungy excelled at being the "front man." He was very good at soothing Fan concerns because he genuinely cared.
Polian doesn't.
Now, with Dungy gone, Bill's back to saying things like the concerns of the fans are not the concerns of the Colts. That's pretty much an open invitation for the public to boo you every time you show your face in public, Bill. Honestly, Jim Irsay needs to lock Bill up somewhere and never, EVER let him talk to the media or the fans again. Polian is a masterful talent evaluator. We all respect his ability to build football teams. But, he just has a very annoying habit of acting like a prick. This time around, he better be right and the Colts better win it all. Because if he isn't, and the Colts lose in the playoffs, fans will never forgive or trust him ever again.
[UPDATE]: AOL Fanhouse also seems to think Polian's comments were belittling to fans:
Polian said he understood why the fans were booing: "If I were in row 20, I would probably be rooting for that, too. Football logic has to come into play at some point in time.''
Did you hear that, Colts fans? You are too stupid to understand football.
'Coltsthink' knows better.