Indianapolis Colts Football

Hibernation

The happiest/saddest day of the year for us NFL Fans has come and gone!  And what an inspiring day it was.  Those school kids from the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut singing America the Beautiful displayed a bravery that is so entrenched in the American Spirit; I congratulate each and every one of them; that was a tough assignment and those kids shone through.  America really is the home of the brave.

And I got to say, two brave teams put on a wonderful exhibition, epitomizing what the NFL is all about.  Stamina, both physically and mentally. The 49ers never mentally chucking in the towel when so far behind in the first half then coming back to a whisker of taking the title.  The Ravens, coming in as underdogs knew what they had to do.  In the end it was Joe Flacco’s long game that gave the Ravens the lead they needed to hang on. Finally, John Harbaugh showed the pinnacle of how cerebral this game can be.  No one saw it coming and the safety play in those dying seconds took away the potential for a Hail-Mary from the 49ers. Now that was brilliant thinking.  At the end of the game we were only left with one question. Who forgot to pay the power bill? Thirty-six minutes of lights out in the second half saw a complete reversal in the flow of the game once someone paid the bill and got the lights back on. And now the season is over.

So what happens to an NFL Fan sitting in Australia during the off season? Mainly a state of decline and depression while waiting until August!  I will say, not so much decline in last year’s off season because the draft for the Colts was so exciting. We added Coach Pagano then acquired Andrew Luck in a brilliant year of off-season moves.  So, perhaps the draft will be of some interest this year because you never seem to know what Jim Irsay and our own NFL Executive of the Year, Ryan Grigson have planned.  Two things I now understand: they won’t disappoint and they never let their fans down. So I will have a lift in spirits during the oncoming draft.

So into hibernation I will go, on a fill of a very exciting year for this Colts fan.  A year when our team took on over ten rookies; a year when we were expected to be middle of the road but ended in the playoffs; a year that saw me make it to Lucas Oil Field and my first ever live NFL game; a year when I made so many football friends; and most of all, a year when our coach got better after suffering leukemia.  So I’ll keep in touch, I’ll even let you know about our football, the season starting in a few weeks, but I will long for what happens best on the gridiron.

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Rooting for the Colts a half a world away.  Our resident Aussie blogger, Rob Zammit, is a veterinarian and dedicated Colts fan.

WE NEEDED A LEADER!

When you hear Robert Mathis, a four-time Pro Bowl choice say, “we needed a leader and we had heard lots about Andrew Luck. He gave us all that we needed and more,”. Combine that statement with the praise given to Luck by a man who has played more than 170 career games, the great Reggie Wayne, then you can feel the growth of our new era. Amongst men that have been and probably still are his idols, Andrew Luck at the Pro Bowl conducted himself as a seasoned career professional and made every Colts fan proud of what we have growing in Indianapolis.

If you are a patriotic Australian you are said to be “TRUE BLUE”; well, that works two ways for this true blue guy and I thank everyone who has contacted me stating they are enjoying my Aussie point of view. So it is with some curiosity that I observe what has happened to Manti Te’o. The poor guy has been the VICTIM in what can only be described as a form of cyber bullying. He got set up, possibly a college prank and that’s obvious to a blow in (new comer) like me. If he is guilty of anything, he is guilty of being a trusting person who felt compassion for another’s plight – that’s all the poor guy is guilty of; there is nothing shonky about Manti Te’o who is a very talented and honest young man. So, blow me down, how does that affect his NFL Draft? You can only hope that the media don’t beat up on this person for simply accepting something on face value. I’m on the other side of the world and can see what has happened so cut the kid a break.

So this Sunday, I’ll be buying all the ingredients for SUPER BOWL MONDAY!  Weird, hey. No I won’t be twenty four hours late, it’s just that International Dateline stuff. But who will prevail? I don’t mind ‘cause the Colts aren’t there so I’ll just enjoy the football, But one of my clients said, “Come on Doc, that’s a cop out. Who do you reckon will win?”.  If I had to place a bet, I think Flacco and the Ravens will be hard to beat if the 49ers fail to cover Joe’s deep plays. But if you reckon different, I won’t pick a blue (fight, argument) with you because it just ain’t the BLUES turn this year. But it will be….it will be.  Hope you all have a great Sunday in Indianapolis or wherever you might be and enjoy the battle on the gridiron!

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Rooting for the Colts a half a world away.  Our resident Aussie blogger, Rob Zammit, is a veterinarian and dedicated Colts fan.

COLTS ANNOUNCE NEW OFF-SEASON RADIO SHOW

Just found out some breaking information! The Indianapolis Colts are introducing a new off-season radio show, “The Last Word,” to air on 1070 The Fan, Fridays 6-7 p.m. The show will bring you the latest Colts coverage, hosted by Jeffrey Gorman and Matt Taylor, along with the return of long-time Indianapolis radio personality Jimmy “Mad Dog” Matis.

“The Last Word” will report on current horseshoe headlines and address recent hot topics within the sports world. The three Colts hosts will discuss and debate the top NFL off-season stories and aren’t afraid to get loud. The show will feature interviews with local and national sports authorities about the latest sports information. Listeners will also hear predictions of weekend sporting events and reminisce on memorable moments in history with some of sports’ finest.

This should be a great way to end your week!

Yours in Football,

Interesting Times……..

Well sure, our season is over and when I watch the games these days the neighbors aren’t complaining about the shouting coming from our household at five o’clock on Monday mornings, but nevertheless, it is an interesting time. You guys lit the passion I have for this game on the gridiron and I am loving the playoffs even though my best friends aren’t on the paddock.  The love of the game is strong within me; I feel the force! Certainly it is interesting to watch this quality football from a less involved passion.

Most certainly at Indianapolis we appreciate quality and there has been some great quality coming through the ranks in every playoff game.  Many of the games revealed quality plays and quality players, so to those who provided so much to our game, I am sure that from every spectator of the game, thank you.

The Ravens “BLINDSIDED” Denver; who saw that coming?  Patriots took care of business so “Tom cruise”s into a Championship Game. Falcons flew fantastically close to win the battle of the birds but there are those who say their heart lies in San Francisco. Yes, interesting times indeed. I won’t try to predict who might win next week; I thought it was going to be a Broncos Green Bay Super bowl, so hey, what would I know?

Still, that leaves me with preparations for SUPER BOWL MONDAY!! I always take the day off when the Super Bowl is being played.  It’s more a help-your-self to the food and beer day, but there are always hot dogs with all the trimmings, buffalo wings and many of my dips. The favored dip amongst my visitors is simple: Canned crab mixed with chopped canned artichokes, add parmesan cheese and mayonnaise then bake until some brown tips form and serve with crusty bread. Breakfast of Champions, that is!  Well, the game starts around ten in the morning, so a couple of beers while I make the dips then it’s dips and beer until half time. Finally Hot dogs and Buffalo wings with more beer during half time and the remainder of the afternoon. It sounds like a lot of beer and I’ll be “dinky-di” (Australian for genuine, honest), it’s a heck of a lot of beer, but we put on a good shindig (Aussie for party).  Some of us are cactus (non-functional) by the afternoon but there is always an assigned driver or you can just crash on our floor. So for any Colts fan that finds themselves in Sydney on Super Bowl Monday, you’re welcomed here around my billabong to indulge in some amber liquid and just appreciate quality time with someone who will always be COLTSTRONG!

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Rooting for the Colts a half a world away.  Our resident Aussie blogger, Rob Zammit, is a veterinarian and dedicated Colts fan.

Our Dream Begins….

Rob Zammit

Now some people would pick a blue (have an argument in Aussie terms) with this title. “What? Are you two sandwiches short of a picnic?” they would say, which means not all there; crazy. “Hell, we just lost at the playoffs…the dream ends here,” many would argue. But not me! For this little black duck, the fantasy has just ended, that’s all. At the beginning of this season we all agreed that this was a building year; we would do much better than last year, but we would only lay foundations. Bloody strong foundations, I say. Therefore, our result this year, finishing 11-5, one win away from equal leader in AFC South, making fifth seed, making the playoffs at all, taking over ten rookies to the playoffs! This is all fantasy stuff. A fantasy that became a reality thanks to Pagano, Arians, Luck and a whole lot of others but a fantasy none the less.

So fantasy over, our dream begins. We now have ten or so rookies that have gained experience in playoff football. Communication between coaches and players has started to gel and more than that, trust between them is building. Trust between a no longer rookie quarterback and his team mates is undeniably an attribute that is well seeded in the Colts offence. Trust and communication in the ever shifting landscape of defense (and gosh, do they show some determination and tackles that flatten some very large opponents) and trust from the fans.  My dream, the one that begins now,  is of a new era in our new COLTSRONG house. And this house is already becoming a great home for Pagano, Arians (he is great and yes Chuck, he does deserve a call but I hope he stays around for awhile longer), Luck, Mathis, Wayne, Hilton…..oh don’t start with all the names again because it’s a very big house!

It would be impossible to imagine that we could ever have such a bonding year as we have had this season. Personally, I don’t just fell closer to every player , coach and administrator in the Colts but I feel closer to every single person in Indianapolis.  Actually, in the whole of Indiana for that matter. So to those that read my blog I have a question. As Indianapolis’ most favored adopted Aussie son, am I now officially an Indianapolian or is there some other name for someone who lives in Indianapolis.  I might not live there physically, but my heart and soul feel they belong there. Though I have only been there once, I did feel very much at home in your great city and I thank everyone there for the opportunity of being part of the great game in a great city. And in the words of General Macarthur, I shall return!” Love you Indianapolis; great city, great people.

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Rooting for the Colts a half a world away.  Our resident Aussie blogger, Rob Zammit, is a veterinarian and dedicated Colts fan.

Building A New House

Rob Zammit

How do you BUILD a new house? You get a great group of draughtsman together like Chuck Pagano, Bruce Arians, Greg Manusky and a draughting team that gels and assists one another as well as helping everyone on the construction site. Together they walk a difficult path but they draw up some wonderful lines from the master plan.

Then we need a master builder to co-ordinate all our men; so enter Andrew Luck. Just finishing as a master apprentice but a great pedigree so let’s cut the kid a break as he graduates into a fully fledged builder. As a new builder, Andrew needed the backing of some experience men, so Reggie Wayne, Donnie Avery assisted by Justice, Castonzo, Satele, McGlynn, Reitz, Stanton, Carter, Saunders, Hills, Shipley, Linkenbach, Stanton, Olsen, Moore, Hills and Karim who came in to do some carpentry, chipping away to build our home. And while they were there they too took on some apprentices like Fleener, Allen, Ballard, Hilton, Sowell, Brazill and Palmer. In fact, the Colts have so many rookies, people thought we were reforming a group from the mid-60’s, The Master Apprentices.

And when you build your house, you need great storm protection so Redding, Johnson, Geathers, of course Mathis, Freeman, Conners, Freeney, Davis, Zbikowski, Bethea and Butler and back them up with Mathews, Tevaseu, Heard, Hughes, Harvey, Angerer, Westerman, Vaughan, Brown, Lefeged, Gordy, Guy, Howells, Williams and the mighty Moise Fokou. These guys know how to protect from a storm, doing it as if our very lives depended on it. Doing it as if their own lives depend on it because that’s what they lay on the line!

No construction is complete without some specialists; you know, electricians, plumbers and the like. So we need the great specialist Adam Vinateri along with McAfee and Overton and they even help in training up some of our young guns.

While all this is great, construction cannot start until the architect presents his work. He is the man who brings all these workers together and he is none other than the very Jim Irsay.  His master plan is now being auctioned but this year is just our building year, remember. Thank you Jim; it’s been an amazing year in the construction of this house we are building.

This house, this COLTSHOUSE, is built on solid foundations with bricks and mortar. The foundations are the tradition and workers that have gone before us. Solid as any rock, they remain with us in this proud city of Indianapolis and are treasures that can never be stolen or removed. Our bricks are the hard work that all the above men do over the year. The mortar is the love from the support staff, the fans and all the families who come together to call ourselves THE COLTSTRONG FAMILY.

Happy New Year, Indianapolis from your mate down here!

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Rooting for the Colts a half a world away.  Our resident Aussie blogger, Rob Zammit, is a veterinarian and dedicated Colts fan.

MERRY CHRISTMAS Indianapolis WE’RE IN THE PLAYOFFS!

     Rob Zammit,

Andrew Luck, you’re our hero. RECORD BREAKING GAME! They say it’s a passing league, well blow me down as our quarter back has a bottler of a season! Vick Ballard had another blinder. TWENTY carries, the man is a work horse. Just as important as the yardage, he draws the defense to him, so while they are piling extra cover on Vick, Reggie and Donnie get a clearer run. Brian Arians, again your time management can only be described as a “RIPPER”.

So to all the amazing men and women that make up this great team, from this ocker downunder, a very sincere thank you!

Now for those that do read my blog, I hope you will join me in this Christmas prayer: “Dear God, as we gather to celebrate the memory of the birth of the baby Jesus, we thank you for our blessings and ask you continue to look after the people of the great city of Indianapolis and the people that work hard for its football team, which helps unite the this city. We also than you dear God, for the success that we have had this season but wish You to know, that in this time of miracles, we’d give it all up tomorrow to see the healthy return of our Coach Chuck Pagano. We pray for a peaceful and safe Christmas in Indianapolis and, indeed throughout America and the rest of this world You have created. Amen.

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Rooting for the Colts a half a world away.  Our resident Aussie blogger, Rob Zammit, is a veterinarian and dedicated Colts fan.

NFL BANS TACKLING!

A Houston receiver is tackled so they get a penalty! Yeah, sure what were we suppose to do? Let him run all the way? Oh, but you can’t tackle a defenseless player. Man, this is football. I do like the way the NFL says that the game is not bigger than anyone’s health; they do look after the players, as they should. But guys, if a receiver accepts the ball, he accepts the fact that he just might get tackled! And while I’m having a whinge (that’s complaining in Aussie Slang), I thought it was a real bad penalty to grab someone by the helmet, especially the face mask component? Apparently not if a Colts’ player gets grabbed, because everyone saw it except the referees. Honestly, the calls were a bit harsh against us.

I’m not trying to make excuses for our loss but it’s hard playing against the referees. OK, enough whinging! Really, we can’t complain; not when Andrew Luck has a career long 61 yard touchdown pass. Sure, the “COMEBACK KIDS” didn’t get a fair crack of the whip in the second half, but with so much youth in our team, the future looks pretty good from where I sit down under.  In fact, I’ll go so far as to predict that the current Colts are become a very exciting machine that is just being polished for a long and illustrious career.

The view from down here is clear; to an Aussie like me, hooked on the NFL and a COLTS fan till the day I die, the franchise is set for big things. Now some people say we were rightly beaten by the Texans but I’m predicting an upset in the final round. Big words? Sure, but the boys learn fast. Their young, feisty and listen to Coach Arians who seems to be able to pull things off at the right time. We haven’t peaked and unlikely to this season but the COME BACK KIDS haven’t shown the best they can do this year so watch out when they tear up the gridiron in the last two rounds. I’ll be staying COLTSTONG and I’ll enjoy the team in the playoffs!

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Rooting for the Colts a half a world away.  Our resident Aussie blogger, Rob Zammit, is a veterinarian and dedicated Colts fan.

The Bigger They Are The Harder They Fall….

                                                                                                                          Rob Zammit,

Sydney, Australia. It’s the night of the twelfth as I write my blog. Pretty special day. 12.12.12. But it’s not just the numbers that have made it special, though at 9-4, the Colts numbers are just fine by us fans. This year has been a phoenix rebirth. Out of last year’s ashes, Jim Irsay has put together a team that not only could easily clinch a wild card but has in their hands the possibility of winning the division. Yeah, we are playing the number two team in the league; but that’s what makes it all the more exciting. We get to beat them twice before the playoffs! This really does all mean we do have the fate of this year’s division in our hands. Something none of us would have thought possible at the start of the season. We all knew this would be our building year, after all, that’s what Jim promised; but none of us imagined that we would build these numbers, 9-4 in our first season. Jim Irsay, you can build my campfire any time! Hell, you can build my whole house.

So Jim, since it is Christmas, if the miracle of a Championship win occurs, I will have no choice but to get over there and make you Vegemite on toast for a celebration breakfast. Oh, don’t panic, Jim. I make a great pumpkin pie so it won’t be all bad!!!

Outstanding communication and undeniable faith in each other has gotten the team this far. You add to that mix an Australian quarterback like Andrew Luck………….  What? You mean he’s not an Aussie? I just thought with his unflappable, “She’ll be right, mate” attitude he must be Australian. He’s not, ay. Well I’ll be blowed. Well, no worries but the combination that Jim has inspiringly brought together is no less than a genius at work.

Oh, and by the way Andrew, I don’t have a heart condition but I soon will with the thrilling football you are playing. I don’t know what they’re telling you around the half time campfire when you guys are sitting around chewing the fat (having a chin wag or discussing events of the first half) but you come out with a new knowledge of the opposition that is awe-inspiring.

Talk of inspiring, it’s great to see Coach Pagano at the games. You too, Coach, make us so proud to be associated with the Colts. I continue to remember you in my prayers for a speedy, healthy recovery.

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Rooting for the Colts a half a world away.  Our resident Aussie blogger, Rob Zammit, is a veterinarian and dedicated Colts fan. Rob’s poodle is pink to raise awareness of breast cancer.

A Day in the Life Of a Colts Fan In the Land of OZ

By Rob Zammit

It’s Monday morning, 12:25am Sydney time, the emergency phone calls me to work; a dog with severe, acute neck pain. Long history but some pain killers, intravenous fluids and a tranquilizer later, the dog is comfortable. In bed around 2 am to catch some sleep. Alarm at 5am, could use more sleep but gotta’ support the boys – the game is about to commence. With such little sleep, the first half is a bit of a blur, which is just as well as our performance is a bit bodgy (that’s Australian for lack of quality!). It’s time to help the boys get their head in the game. Put the billy on for a cuppa (boil the kettle to make tea) and get some veggie on toast (vegemite is a rare Australian delicacy, unappreciated by the rest of the world as they don’t know how to prepare it!).

Second half we make some ground on the Lions but there’s one player hurting us and that’s Calvin Johnson. We scream out to the defense from downunder to make megatron a neutron; somehow they listen and hold the Lions back. Now it’s Time for Andrew to take the field. He’s been threatened with a dose of Vegemite on toast so he puts in the performance we all know he can do, and yes, Mr. Andrew gets our vote for MVP and Rookie of the Year! We are in the 2 minute warning now and my friend Dan Plumlee sends a text from the game, saying, “we can do it!”.  I text back, “We have done it!! We are COLTSTRONG”. A few plays later and our prophecy is fulfilled during the dying second of the game, with a great move from Andrew Luck hooking up with Donnie Avery for that magical, winning touchdown. Thank you ball boys, thank you linesmen, game over, shut the door, too late the COLTS HAVE BOLTED!  Thank God, I’m on a high, because unlike you, I now have a full day’s work ahead of me. No worries, mate, I’m on a colthigh; the second half was a bottler (something excellent, in Australian slang) and we are in cooee of a playoff berth. And something we even now down here: anything can happen in the playoffs, because playoff football is different football.