It's hard to understand how I feel, and it's hard to understand why I feel that way about a sports team. I know, sports are just hussied-up games played by multi-millionaires. But something about this transcends that knowledge.

I've been following the Colts (and the Reds, for that matter) for as long as I could remember. I don't remember the Baltimore Colts (pre-1984), I only remember the Indianapolis Colts. My family was never too into football... my dad absolutely hates it. My mom, however, grew up watching football and was always covertly ready to watch a game. It was with her on that handful of Sundays when my dad had to work over that I cut my teeth on the Colts.

I remember a lot of years of really terrible football teams, like something out of the Bad News Bears. I remember a bunch of times that the team was so bad that fans quit going and the team threatened to leave. I remember a few times where the team did decently back then (1987, when they went to the playoffs against the Browns and lost, the 1995 failed Hail Mary in Pittsburgh by Jim Harbaugh who still thanked Jesus after the game).

Then Peyton Manning came, and we sorta figured he was another false prophet. He won a lot of games, but never got over the hump. He got close a lot of times, and he kept running into the Patriots (or the Steelers, or the Jets, or whoever else).

Now, after 20 years of watching, the Colts are in the Super Bowl for the first time in my memory. Relief, joy, happiness... these things are all there.

And for a football team?

Who knew?

So, if anyone's interested in being a wealthy benefactor, I could use Super Bowl tickets....

More likely, I will watch in the comfort of my own home.