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Colts hang "2014 AFC Finalist" banner at Lucas Oil Stadium to commemorate AFC Championship Game loss

The Indianapolis Colts have a new banner hanging at Lucas Oil Stadium - one that reads "2014 AFC Finalist." Because of course the franchise would want to commemorate an AFC Championship Game in which they lost 45-7.

By Josh Wilson
Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

The Indianapolis Colts are hosting an open mini-camp practice to fans at Lucas Oil Stadium in what is always a day filled with fun activities for Colts fans as they get to see the new team in action, if only for a practice.  While the main event of the day is showing off some of the exciting new players for the Colts, people also had the chance to see the new banner they have hung in the rafters of Lucas Oil Stadium.  It's a banner that reads, "2014 AFC Finalists."  That's right, folks, the Colts hung a banner to commemorate their 45-7 loss to the Patriots in last year's AFC Championship game.

To be fair, the Colts did have an impressive season a year ago.  They went 11-5, won the AFC South, and then defeated both the Cincinnati Bengals and Denver Broncos to make it to the AFC title game, their first since the 2009 season and just their fifth conference title game since moving to Indy in 1984.  So without a doubt, what the Colts did in 2014 is worthy of praise and worth celebrating - but it still feels funny hanging a banner for it.

Note that this is nothing new from the Colts.  They hang banners to commemorate division titles and playoff appearances all of the time, and so it should come as no surprise to see this banner hanging among the others at Lucas Oil Stadium.  But there comes a time when banners for making the playoffs seems like a bit much, especially for an incredibly successful franchise like the Colts.  They're pretty much hanging a new banner every year, and if that's what they want to do then by all means they have every right to do so.  But hanging a banner after losing by 38 points in the AFC title game, even if it came at the end of an impressive season, isn't something that I would have chosen to do.

What are your thoughts on the Colts' banner?  Do you think it's a worthy banner because it's celebrating the season, or do you think it's a joke because of the way the season ended?

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