Beating a Dead Horse: Colts Fans Are The Worst

February 8, 2010 By 18 Comments

Before the Super Bowl on Sunday, I became aware of the rumor that many a Colts fan were concerned about the upcoming snowstorm; and more specifically, whether or not it would affect their Super Bowl parade.

As it turns out, it will be twenty-eight degrees and snowy in Indianapolis today, with a zero percent chance of fandom. A parade, by definition, is unlikely.

After living in Indy from 2003 to 2009, I realized two things:

1) That John Cougar Mellencamp is not nearly as popular or talented as Hoosiers think; and

2) The Colts have the worst fans in football. Their display of “appreciation” yesterday further proved it.

colts-fans-suck

Here are 10 Colts fans. Add one more and you have the same pathetic amount that greeted the Colts - a 16-3 team that gave the city a second Super Bowl berth in four years - when they returned from Miami.

I don’t have the time, energy, or interest necessary to address the Mellencamp thing, so lets just dive into number two.

According to the Indianapolis Star, when the Colts returned home from Miami, they were greeted at the airport by all eleven of their fans. That’s right, eleven (11).

ELEVEN!?!

If only Hoosiers could somehow find a way to blame the officials, or pin this on a hanging chad…

Anyway, barring a recount, this only furthers the argument that Indianapolis is a bandwagon town, with bandwagon fans. (For more evidence, drop by Conseco Fieldhouse on game night.)

As a die-hard Browns fan, this upsets me to no end. Any jealousy I may feel regarding the Colts’ one ring & two conference championships is completely beside the point. This is about fandom, and the lack thereof in Indy. It amazes me how a team that wins so much can attract so many losers (see picture below).

A lack of tradition is somewhat excusable. There wasn’t a team in Indy when people my age were kids. The team didn’t stab Baltimore in the back until 1984. Cleveland didn’t feel the aftershock until 1995. (BTW, thanks Mr. Irsay, for putting down the bottle of gin long enough to set precedents like: holding teams ransom & skipping town in the middle of the night for more money.)

matt-ellis-colts-tattoos

Colts fan Matt Ellis was all over the Super Bowl pregame shows because he is getting "auto-tats" for every player/coach on the 2007 Super Bowl champion Colts...proof that even Indy's dedicated fans are losers.

What is not excusable, however, is the fact that Colts fans don’t “get it.”

Whether it’s the band-wagoners bravado at the bar in Broad Ripple, or the brainiacs who booed the backups wearing home blues (while 14-0!), Colts fans have a lot to learn if they want to keep their team in town.

Peyton Manning (and winning) won’t last forever, and San Antonio, Portland, Los Angeles, and Utah have much more to offer than free pickup trucks and an endless supply of inedible corn.  How tragically ironic would it be for it all to end that way.  Only time will tell.

In New Orleans, however, the forecast calls for rain and a high of fifty-four degrees on Tuesday night. Saints fans will be undeterred, however. They planned this homecoming celebration for their team weeks ago. They were going to celebrate their amazing season with a parade, whether they won the Super Bowl or not.

The Saints have real fans; and real fans don’t quit.   Rain or shine.   Win or lose.

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* – Colts fan group photo credit: MyColts.net Forum (under ironic headline “Are you an EXTREME Colts fan?”

* – Colts fan Matt Ellis photo credit: UpperDeckBlog.com

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Filed Under: NFL Tagged With: Colts fans, curtis painter, Indianapolis Colts, NFL
  • AJ Kaufman

    You are correct on Mellencamp, and as much as it pains me to say, mostly correct on Colts fans. BUT, that's football fans in general. Without alcohol, gambling, ESPN's perpetual hype, and one game per week, football would be far less popular. Indy's football fans are therefore no worse than most cities.

    And when it comes to college and high school sports, having lived in Indy for 4 years and 12 other cities the 27 prior, Indiana has the best amateur sports fans.

  • http://intensedebate.com/people/JerodMSF JerodMSF

    Agreed, Indiana has GREAT high school and college sports fans (minus Bloomington for football, but they make up for it with bball insanity).

    However, don't skirt the issue. The issue here is the Colts. Alcohol, gambling, ESPN hype, and one game per week are givens with football in ANY city. Of course they contribute to the game's popularity. But the Saints had 30K fans at the airport. If the Browns had lost in the Super Bowl, I guarantee there would be thousands – at a minimum – there to greet the team.

    There is something inherent about Indianapolis as a sports city that – in my opinion – makes it wholly undeserving of a franchise as well run as the Colts and a player as transcendent as Peyton Manning. I know that Peyton pays lip service to Indy fans being "the best fans in the world" but he went to Tennessee and has seen Saints fans close up; he can't possibly believe that. No one else that I've talked to does.

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  • Nicholas Gerlach

    The Colts as a franchise deserve so much more than what they get from their fans. You could argue they're the best run franchise in the league right now. They have had one of the best QB's ever for the last 10 years. I know he has had his problems in the playoffs…but still….He won a Super Bowl. There are like 30 QB's ever that have won one and one of them was Trent Dilfer.

    I don't like the Colts…but they still had a hell of a season and I feel bad for the team (not the fans) for this.

  • Marshall in Indy

    Take it easy, dude. I'm not saying we're the best fans in the world, but consider:
    1. Most Indy fans still have jobs.
    2. The team didn't release their travel agenda to the press, so it wasn't widely known when they were arriving.
    3. There were winter storm warnings Monday afternoon, and lots of people were hunkering down.
    4. We just lost the freaking Super Bowl! To make it worse, All 360 million Americans except for the million or so that live here, took DELIGHT in our failure. The whole town was pretty bummed. (You see, Browns fans, when your team wins a lot, and goes to Super Bowls,…ah, never mind…)

    Maybe, just maybe, we're becoming a high-standards fan base. Lakers Fans, Yankees Fans, Patriots Fans, Colts Fans. We give welcoming-home parades for Championships, not Runner-Ups.

  • Nick Colletti Sr.

    Typical "bandwagon" fan.
    Your team does well and you're there to show support.
    They lose and turn your backs on them. The Colts deserve better then to have fans like you.
    Besides you're not a high standard fan base….. more like spoiled children.

  • http://intensedebate.com/people/JerodMSF JerodMSF

    Ladies and gentleman…Colts fans!

  • http://intensedebate.com/people/JerodMSF JerodMSF

    Agreed.

  • http://intensedebate.com/people/KVB KVB

    Comparing the Colts and their standards to the Lakers and the Yankees is completely idiotic. And idiotic if you do the Patroits comparison when talking this past decade (FOUR super bowl appearances).

    You will have the same standards if you dominate a sport for multiple decades like the Lakers or Yankees, not just one (again if you eliminate the Patriots the past decade). I don't care that only 11 fans showed support in kinda bad weather to watch from a couple hundred feet away…but dude drop the high standards card. Did you not watch in the 80s or 90s (the only other decades you've even had a team)?

  • AJ Kaufman

    Indy has weather unlike N.O.

    And the people have jobs, unlike N.O. pre and post Katrina.

    When Indy won in 2007, tens of thousands lined the streets (at least 30K, which would be more than N.O.) on a MONDAY NIGHT because the NFL made the pro bowl Saturday that year, so some players needed to leave Tuesday, therefore the first & only Monday night parade — and it was six degrees. The fans showed up. I was one of them, evn though new to the city. They showed up for rallies all week last week — in brutally cold weather.

    I think the article is hyperbolic. Fans in New Orleans have never shown up unless their team wins, so please don't use them as an example (use Pitt, NY, Philly, Denver, Chi etc)

    Many NFL teams and many cities (check the southeast or west — good weather breeds bad fans) have far worse fan bases.

    The Colts sellout every year despite VERY high ticket prices, no giveaways, discounts, etc…and despite what some say, very little outreach from the Colts front office — which I believe is over rated/over hyped.

    That said, I'm done with this. Football season is over.

  • AJ Kaufman

    You really think the Saints have good fans?

    I find them to be the typical bandwagon fans who don't show up (or worse) when the team loses, then line the streets to drink, party and jump on board when they win?

    What was their attendance like just last season when the team was mediocre?

    There are many fan bases equal to or better than the Colts? New Orleans is not one of them.

  • AJ Kaufman

    http://espn.go.com/nfl/attendance

    As you can see, each year, Saints are at most 95% capacity, while most are 95-100% or higher (ala Colts).

    NO does not have good fans. They just like winners.

  • AJ Kaufman

    Yes, Nick, I also feel bad for the millionaire football players now on vacation while the rest of us — who pay their salaries — go back to work. That's ridiculous, man. These are athletes, not war heroes.

  • http://intensedebate.com/people/KVB KVB

    What a skewed stat list, such horrible math too (i know I'm a nerd) "at capacity" can never be more than 100%. How can you be 105% capacity? Now I know it has something to do with the standing room sections (see Dallas). But get real if there is a standing "room" section, it is a section made (with tickets) available for people to watch the game. It doesn't give a franchise more than 100% capacity.

    The bigger issue I have with this list is it has Green Bay at 97% Really? My dad has been trying to get non-scalped season tickets for two decades. You can't even get a ticket to preseason unless it is the one they play in Madison. There may have been a few fans passed out drunk in the parking lot and never made it in the stadium, but there is never tickets left over. If the whole league is blacked out you can guarantee you will at least get to watch any game played in Green Bay. Thank god i clicked that link now I know Colt fans are 8% better than Packer fans.

  • Nick Colletti Sr.

    Not at all surprised to see Dallas being No 1.
    Those people just confuse me….

  • guest

    What a joke!!! Even when you won the Super Bowl a couple of year back they said the an estimated 30,000 fans lined the streets!!

    Real Fans in Pittsbugh: PITTSBURGH — An estimated 350,000 Steelers fans lined the streets of downtown Pittsburgh Tuesday, watching a parade for the six-time Super Bowl champions.
    (http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/sports/186191…

  • softy

    You ask what was attendance was like the past few seasons? Well I have been on the waiting list for season tickets since 2006. I figure my time is soon because my friend was notified recently and asked if tickets became available, was he still interested? He signed up right before I did. The dome is packed and has been since Sean Peyton arrived. You must not realize this because you’ve been outside shoveling your driveway.

  • Every Other Person

    Can't wait till the colts move!