We've said this a billion times, and we'll keep saying it because it's the truth: We like Pat McAfee.
Yes, he's goofy. He's silly. He reminds us of a Lebowski-like beach bum who, perhaps, happened to wake up one morning on a football field and, just to see if he could do it, started kicking footballs. A coach or an assistant trainer saw him do it, and the next thing you know he's getting paid six figures to punt in the NFL.
But, even though we like Pat and think he's an overall nice guy, he does have a tendency to say and do stupid things.
With the lockout entering its fourth month, the Colts cannot sanction or silence Pat whenever he gets on Twitter and starts yapping away about this and that. While we in Colts land know and love Pat for being a good punter as well as a good guy, most of America knows him as that stupid kicker who got drunk during a game week, took a dip in a frozen, polluted canal at four in the morning, and got arrested for it.
Thus, Pat's choice of words when plugging his guest appearance on this morning on Indianapolis radio station 1070 The Fan maybe should have avoided any and all references to 'water' and 'swimming' [emphasis mine]:
PatMcAfeeShow having a great time with @mg_indy on @1070thefan come on in the water is finnne
While we are fairly certain to proverbial and metaphorical waters of the 1070 the Fan studio are more comfortable and less dangerous than a swim in the Broadripple Canal at 4:00 a.m. in late October, it is probably best that Pat avoid Tweeting or saying anything to do with water for pretty much the rest of his football career.
We say this because Pat's value to the Colts goes beyond punting. He's a vital part of the team, especially when it comes to special teams overall. This includes punting, place kick holding, and emergency field goal kicking in case of an injury to Adam Vinatieri. Remember, Pat got suspended by the team for his little dunk in the drink, and he is damn lucky that his stunt did not get him killed.
We write this little reminder about Pat because we get the sense that he might not have learned his lesson. And if he screws up again, it's highly probable that his career with the Indianapolis Colts will be sunk. Obviously, we don't want that to happen.