Every now and then, I like to write about the teams the I am a fan of, and there are only a couple of professional sports teams that I now support as a fan. They are the Chelsea Blues of the EPL, and the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts.
I became a fan of the Colts when they drafted wide receiver Marvin Harrison from my school, Syracuse University, in 1997. Now retired, he will be in the Football Hall Of Fame as soon as he becomes eligible. The Colts had another superstar who was also an Orange alumnus, and went to become a Hall Of Fame member in 1992, and is considered by some to be the greatest tight end in NFL history, John Mackey. He is reported to be afflicted with dementia, and residing in an assisted living facility, according to Wikipedia. The present day Colts have another future Hall Of Fame player from Syracuse on their roster, Dwight Freeney, one of the very best and most feared defensive ends since he came into the NFL in 2001. So for me, the Colts seem to almost be an extension of the school. I also like the fact that they are a small market team, so there are not that many people outside of Indiana who cheer for them. I’m glad to be one of those few. It has also been inspiring to me, to see how well the team, and Peyton Manning in particular, responded to being written off only a few weeks ago by many football fans and some analysts, at a time when Manning was struggling with interceptions, and the team was in serious jeopardy of having no possibility to qualify for the playoffs. I also like the way general manager Bill Polian manages to assemble a competitive team almost every year, just as he did in Buffalo with the Bills, when they went to the Super Bowl four years in a row. They never won, but no other team has managed to replicate that rare achievement either, and it seems highly unlikely that another team would be able to do so. As a Colts fan, it was a feeling of great pride to have the very classy Tony Dungy coach the team, and lead them to a Super Bowl championship in the 2006 season. He is one of the most respected coaches in any sport, and also voluntarily counseled Michael Vick while he was in prison. Dungy deserves some of the credit for the way Vick has comeback into the league as an MVP caliber player this season, something that no one would have predicted, when the Virginia Tech alumnus was given the opportunity to return to the NFL.
As for the Chelsea Blues, they started the EPL season very strongly. However, manager Carlo Ancelotti’s team has been struggling through a stretch of six games, and they have not won a league match since November 10. I like the Blues as well, because they are not as popular as Manchester United, even though the Blues do have a global following. Since I became a fan of the team in 2007, they have been a very competitive club, and were winners of The Double last season, capturing both the Premiership title, and the FA Cup. Even with their current struggles, they are still in the running for the Champions League trophy, as they enter the knockout phase in February. It is also pleasing to me that as manager, Ancelotti takes responsibility for the club’s failings, and also professionally addresses the failings of the players through this difficult stretch.
As noted in the official Chelsea website, Ancelotti stated: “We didn’t play well in this game ( 3-1 loss to Arsenal ), we were not in focus 100 percent……. I didn’t see the team play how we want……We don’t have confidence in this moment. We are sleeping. This is the reality of this team,so when you play against good teams like Arsenal you can lose if you do not wake up.”
Win or lose, there is something special about being a fan of a team that is not the most popular with the majority of fans. The fact that these teams win championships of various kinds over the years, and have some of their respective sport’s very best athletes on their rosters, makes it even more rewarding.