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In the Colts locker room are players on both ends of the spectrum. There's the veteran wide receiver Reggie Wayne, who has been a part of double-digit win seasons in twelve of his fourteen years in the league and will be making his twelfth playoff appearance in fourteen seasons. He just notched his ninth division title as a member of the Colts.
Then there's veteran linebacker D'Qwell Jackson. This is his first season with the Colts after spending eight seasons with the Browns. He has been a part of just one double-digit win season, zero division titles, and zero playoff appearances in his eight seasons. This year will be one of firsts for him - both with the division titles and the playoff appearances. Josh Cribbs, who was with Jackson for many of those years in Cleveland, has also never been a part of a division title or a playoff berth.
Perhaps nothing provides a better illustration of the meaning of a division title than those two veteran players, both in their first season with the Colts. Imagine playing so many years and never making the playoffs once, much less win the division. Imagine playing all of those years and winning ten games just one time. This highlights a reality that many Colts fans don't realize: winning a division isn't easy, and winning as many division titles as the Colts have recently is nearly unheard of.
Read through my twitter mentions, or the twitter account of many Colts fans, and you'll see an attitude that has become prevalent among the fan base: that division titles don't mean anything. So many years of greatness from Peyton Manning and now Andrew Luck make anything but a division title a failure. It's Super Bowl or bust. And without a doubt, this team's goal is the Super Bowl. But that doesn't make winning the division irrelevant, meaningless, or something to just brush off. When the Colts first lay out their goals for the season, they list winning the AFC South. That's the first goal on the way to a larger goal.
The Colts clinched a home playoff game today, defeating the Texans 17-10 to win the AFC South title. And it's an accomplishment. It means a lot to guys like D'Qwell Jackson, Josh Cribbs, and even Reggie Wayne. "This feeling never gets old," Reggie said after the game.
The Colts have bigger goals than just winning the AFC South. Their goal is the Super Bowl. But that doesn't make this AFC South title worthless. In fact, it highlights just how impressive their run of success has been. Not only was it their second straight division title but it was their ninth in thirteen years. That's a model of consistency, and it's a notable accomplishment.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Love that team win <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ColtsNation?src=hash">#ColtsNation</a>! AFC CHAMPS!!</p>— Jerrell Freeman (@JerrellFreeman) <a href="https://twitter.com/JerrellFreeman/status/544256344820551681">December 14, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>2014 AFC SOUTH CHAMPS! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/3Amigos?src=hash">#3Amigos</a> <a href="http://t.co/9VKUR54K8w">http://t.co/9VKUR54K8w</a> <a href="http://t.co/fgm8wKrBzC">pic.twitter.com/fgm8wKrBzC</a></p>— Darius Butler (@DariusJButler) <a href="https://twitter.com/DariusJButler/status/544256148334194689">December 14, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Division Champs!! <a href="http://t.co/swB4erTrRT">pic.twitter.com/swB4erTrRT</a></p>— D'Qwell Jackson (@DQ52) <a href="https://twitter.com/DQ52/status/544257067440422912">December 14, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/4thDownArmy?src=hash">#4thDownArmy</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AFCSouthChamps?src=hash">#AFCSouthChamps</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ColtsNation?src=hash">#ColtsNation</a> <a href="http://t.co/A0jslxcw3B">http://t.co/A0jslxcw3B</a></p>— Dewey McDonald (@Dewey_MAC) <a href="https://twitter.com/Dewey_MAC/status/544257924865220608">December 14, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>1st Goal : Win The Division ✔️</p>— J-New (@JNEW_11) <a href="https://twitter.com/JNEW_11/status/544258275177668609">December 14, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AFCSOUTHCHAMPS?src=hash">#AFCSOUTHCHAMPS</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BrotherHood?src=hash">#BrotherHood</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TNT?src=hash">#TNT</a> <a href="http://t.co/f0vHPFxoRR">http://t.co/f0vHPFxoRR</a></p>— Josh Chapman (@The_Boss61) <a href="https://twitter.com/The_Boss61/status/544259753044881408">December 14, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Great Team Win!!!AFC South Champs. We will enjoy this tonite and start preparing for dem Cowboys tom#ColtsNation</p>— Erik Walden (@E_Ninety3) <a href="https://twitter.com/E_Ninety3/status/544269219215728640">December 14, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>5th. straight year going into the playoffs! Earned my 3rd. Div. Title as well! God is so GREAT! Good is not enough...He's GREAT! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Colts?src=hash">#Colts</a></p>— Cory Redding Sr. (@CRedd90) <a href="https://twitter.com/CRedd90/status/544287293926678530">December 15, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Congrats to the Colts on winning the 2014 AFC South division title! It's a great accomplishment, but the team still has more goals to hopefully achieve.