The Colts and Indianapolis rallied behind head coach, Chuck Pagano
Part IV: Tragedy and Sports: First Hand Experience
Ross Weber; @rweberI65
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Sometimes sports become more than just a game, and Ross Weber got to experience that first hand when Chuck Pagano, the head coach of his favorite NFL team the Indianapolis Colts, was diagnosed with leukemia last season. The team and the city rallied around their leader and finished 11-5 and made the playoffs when many people believed they wouldn't do much better than the 2-14 record they posted the year before.
Chuck Pagano is a hero in Indianapolis, and one of the strongest and toughest men on the planet. He brought together a fan base and a relatively new team together to fight as one, and Indianapolis will forever be a stronger city for it. 9/14/13 |
I may just be 17 years old, but I've seen a lot of sports in my lifetime. I've been a fanatic of my teams and leagues as long as I can remember, and I am very passionate about watching my teams win. Whenever things have looked bleak, and I begin to become frustrated about whatever injustice has occurred against my franchise, my mom utters those four infamous words:
"It's just a game."
When I was little, I would argue with something that is easily discardable.
"But if we win, we'll make the playoffs!"
"But if we win, we'll start the season 1-0!"
"But if we will, we'll beat the best team in the league!"
My mom would respond, "It's just a game, Ross."
As I got older, I would give better responses.
"But these men are playing for their jobs!"
"But these players need to win for their paychecks!"
"But if they don't win, one of those could lose a scholarship!"
My mom would respond, "It's just a game, Ross."
For me, a 17 year old from Indianapolis, it might be just a game. But there are times when for anyone who has even been passionate about a game, it becomes so much more.
When tragedy strikes, people come together. It's an obvious, simple statement, but it has so much truth to it. Candlelight vigils, prayer services and many other things of that sort are used to bring people together during a tragedy.
Nothing brings more people together, tragedy or not, like sports.
On Sundays I would play CYO basketball games at my church with a lot of other kids. Every week, we'd all go out and have fun shooting 25% from the field and turning the ball over 20 times a game, we were little kids just having fun playing ball, but the place that was almost always had a constant stream of people to and from the bleachers was the concession stand.
Not because of the moderately high prices on hot dogs and sodas, but because there was a TV with the Colts game on in the background. All the kids in their off games wanted to volunteer for the concession stand, because it was free permission to watch Peyton Manning, Marvin Harrison, Dwight Freeney and one of the best franchises in the NFL go to work.
By the time the game was on the line, the concession stand would have more people watching the Colts game than in the bleachers watching their kids play basketball. Those were the people that you would watch the games with every week, and by the time I go too old to play on Sundays I knew all of the kids and most of their dads because we watched the Colts games together every week.
I've seen all of Peyton Manning's seasons as a Colt. I've seen 4th quarter comebacks, 14-2 seasons, division dominance, and a Super Bowl Championship. I also witnessed the 2-14 season that culminated in selecting Andrew Luck #1 overall in the 2012 NFL Draft.
But no season was more fun or more meaningful than last season for the Colts. Ask any Indianapolis Colts fan, and they'd say the same.
Because of the new GM Ryan Grigson? Because of new franchise centerpiece Andrew Luck? Because of new additions like Cory Redding and TY Hilton? It was none of those things.
It was because of the new head coach Chuck Pagano, and the 12 games that he wasn't on the sidelines.
Anyone who watched the NFL or follows the league knows about the story of Chuck Pagano and the 2012 Colts. Pagano was diagnosed with leukemia before Week 4 of the season against one of the best teams in the league the Green Bay Packers. The Colts were 1-2, and were without their monster-builder for the time being. The only thing anyone expected was a blowout.
The first half was exactly that, the Packers led 21-3 and everything looked bad for Indy. There was no way this rag-tag group of rookies and a few veterans could beat MVP Aaron Rogers and the high powered Green Bay offense.
Not if the Colts had anything to say about it.
It started with a Jerrod Powers interception, and a few great drives by the offense. Andrew Luck broke tackles and made unbelievable passes. Cory Redding sacked Rogers twice and the defense was rock solid.
Watching that game, you couldn't help but think that the Colts were being helped by another power, pushed by another force. He was laying in a hospital bed right down the street, cheering them on every step of the way. The Colts won that game, and went on to win 9 more. The Colts made the playoffs without Peyton Manning for the first time in 16 years.
They kept the lights in Chuck Pagano's office at the facility on until he returned Week 17 to face the division winning Texans. The Colts romped Houston that game, and I got to listen to it on the radio while on vacation in Florida. A smile never left my face, as it hadn't all season.
As a fan, there has never been a team that I have been more proud to watch and cheer for. I watched the 2006 AFC Championship game, I was at Super Bowl XLI, I've seen great Colts seasons before, but last year means so much more than any other for so many wonderful reasons.
The 2012 Indianapolis Colts rallied around the tragedy that struck their head coach and it led them to a playoff birth. They not only found comradery with each other, but they rallied a state to find a new reason to cheer. I've never heard Lucas Oil Stadium, or any Colts crowd louder than that season. The Colts Nation had gone from those divided by the Peyton Manning decision to united by a coach fighting for his life in a hospital downtown, coaching through text messages and watching his team win for him.
Chuck Pagano beat leukemia, and the Colts made the playoffs. They inspired each other, and in that process they inspired a city. It was more than just a game.
Just like any other Colts fan, I haven't taken of my #ChuckStrong bracelet yet.
"It's just a game."
When I was little, I would argue with something that is easily discardable.
"But if we win, we'll make the playoffs!"
"But if we win, we'll start the season 1-0!"
"But if we will, we'll beat the best team in the league!"
My mom would respond, "It's just a game, Ross."
As I got older, I would give better responses.
"But these men are playing for their jobs!"
"But these players need to win for their paychecks!"
"But if they don't win, one of those could lose a scholarship!"
My mom would respond, "It's just a game, Ross."
For me, a 17 year old from Indianapolis, it might be just a game. But there are times when for anyone who has even been passionate about a game, it becomes so much more.
When tragedy strikes, people come together. It's an obvious, simple statement, but it has so much truth to it. Candlelight vigils, prayer services and many other things of that sort are used to bring people together during a tragedy.
Nothing brings more people together, tragedy or not, like sports.
On Sundays I would play CYO basketball games at my church with a lot of other kids. Every week, we'd all go out and have fun shooting 25% from the field and turning the ball over 20 times a game, we were little kids just having fun playing ball, but the place that was almost always had a constant stream of people to and from the bleachers was the concession stand.
Not because of the moderately high prices on hot dogs and sodas, but because there was a TV with the Colts game on in the background. All the kids in their off games wanted to volunteer for the concession stand, because it was free permission to watch Peyton Manning, Marvin Harrison, Dwight Freeney and one of the best franchises in the NFL go to work.
By the time the game was on the line, the concession stand would have more people watching the Colts game than in the bleachers watching their kids play basketball. Those were the people that you would watch the games with every week, and by the time I go too old to play on Sundays I knew all of the kids and most of their dads because we watched the Colts games together every week.
I've seen all of Peyton Manning's seasons as a Colt. I've seen 4th quarter comebacks, 14-2 seasons, division dominance, and a Super Bowl Championship. I also witnessed the 2-14 season that culminated in selecting Andrew Luck #1 overall in the 2012 NFL Draft.
But no season was more fun or more meaningful than last season for the Colts. Ask any Indianapolis Colts fan, and they'd say the same.
Because of the new GM Ryan Grigson? Because of new franchise centerpiece Andrew Luck? Because of new additions like Cory Redding and TY Hilton? It was none of those things.
It was because of the new head coach Chuck Pagano, and the 12 games that he wasn't on the sidelines.
Anyone who watched the NFL or follows the league knows about the story of Chuck Pagano and the 2012 Colts. Pagano was diagnosed with leukemia before Week 4 of the season against one of the best teams in the league the Green Bay Packers. The Colts were 1-2, and were without their monster-builder for the time being. The only thing anyone expected was a blowout.
The first half was exactly that, the Packers led 21-3 and everything looked bad for Indy. There was no way this rag-tag group of rookies and a few veterans could beat MVP Aaron Rogers and the high powered Green Bay offense.
Not if the Colts had anything to say about it.
It started with a Jerrod Powers interception, and a few great drives by the offense. Andrew Luck broke tackles and made unbelievable passes. Cory Redding sacked Rogers twice and the defense was rock solid.
Watching that game, you couldn't help but think that the Colts were being helped by another power, pushed by another force. He was laying in a hospital bed right down the street, cheering them on every step of the way. The Colts won that game, and went on to win 9 more. The Colts made the playoffs without Peyton Manning for the first time in 16 years.
They kept the lights in Chuck Pagano's office at the facility on until he returned Week 17 to face the division winning Texans. The Colts romped Houston that game, and I got to listen to it on the radio while on vacation in Florida. A smile never left my face, as it hadn't all season.
As a fan, there has never been a team that I have been more proud to watch and cheer for. I watched the 2006 AFC Championship game, I was at Super Bowl XLI, I've seen great Colts seasons before, but last year means so much more than any other for so many wonderful reasons.
The 2012 Indianapolis Colts rallied around the tragedy that struck their head coach and it led them to a playoff birth. They not only found comradery with each other, but they rallied a state to find a new reason to cheer. I've never heard Lucas Oil Stadium, or any Colts crowd louder than that season. The Colts Nation had gone from those divided by the Peyton Manning decision to united by a coach fighting for his life in a hospital downtown, coaching through text messages and watching his team win for him.
Chuck Pagano beat leukemia, and the Colts made the playoffs. They inspired each other, and in that process they inspired a city. It was more than just a game.
Just like any other Colts fan, I haven't taken of my #ChuckStrong bracelet yet.
