Blue Monday for Steelers
November 29th, 2005
Looking back on my trip to Indianapolis, it wasn’t fun at all. My first bad feeling came in the Detroit airport. I was connecting on an early morning flight, the Monday after Thanksgiving. The airport was busy, but there were no people dressed up in Steelers garb. Just regular travelers in transit. My previous Sunday experiences always included random sightings of Steelers fans. Then when I arrived, Indianapolis was gray and rainy. Not much of a day for tailgating. Instead I found most Steelers fans in the mall.
Around 5 pm I decided to wander over to the hotel where the Steelers were staying and see who I could find. All small group of people were waiting in the lobby for a glimpse of Big Ben in his sharp suit. Around the side of the hotel another more vocal group of fans waited for the players to board the buses to the RCA Dome. Still it seemed quiet on the streets. There were Steelers fans about, but no nearly as many as I would have hoped for. The Colts 10-0 record probably made it hard or expensive to find tickets, but still the Steelers faithful showed up.
I walked around town and finally stopped at the Slippery Noodle Inn. This is perhaps the oldest operating bar in Indianapolis, but on this particular evening, the front bar was filled with Steelers fans chanting, “Cut that meat,” and “De-Caff!” to taunt the Colts fans. As game time neared, more and more Steelers fans emerged. I ran into one group brandishing a Steelers flag up and down the streets.
Once inside the RCA Dome, the Steelers cheers were muffled. The stadium was loud even when the fans were just conversing between quarters. It looked as if the Steelers would be clobbered after the first Colts play went for a touchdown. Then Troy Polamalu’s interception quieted the crowd and lead to a Hines Ward Touchdown.
So heading into halftime, the Steelers Defense had kept the Colts to only field goals (except for that big burn play) and with the score at 7-16 Colts, it was still a two possession game. Make the Colts punt all day and play field position. The Steelers were still in it.
I didn’t hear the curses inside the RCA dome, but I’m sure everywhere else a scream of disbelief escaped as the Steelers goofed an onside kick to start the second half. The game soured after that. And though the Colts fans, like many others, told me to cry in my towel, I stayed until the very end. It was an embarrassing loss. One that I hadn’t felt all season. At least the others were all lost in overtime. Coming home from this game, I felt sore, like I had been spanked. Little did I know that soon I would be injury report. What a bummer.
Steelers lose to Indianapolis Colts 26-7 on Monday Night Football
Blue Monday for Steelers