I mean, think about Indiana (or don't--an empty mind is pretty much the same thing).  If you scraped all the social outlets and cultural opportunities of that state together in one place, you could fit it all into Bryant Park without removing the carousel.  After you get past the Colts and the Pacers, it's pretty tough times.  

Now imagine the legitimate frustrations of 1) being given generally short shrift by the national media because, let's face it, you're a tiny market; 2) dumping out in the first round in spite of repeated 'good fortune' associated with the officiating crews throughout the season, and 3) the bitterness of knowing that Peyton pre-filmed an end-of-season disappointment commercial in anticipation of just such a failure.

All to see your arch-rival, nemesis and international bad-guy New England Patriots, winners of 3-in-7, travel to AZ to take on a freshly likeable, hard-nosed, bad-assed, storied franchise led by none other than your hero's kid brother!  Who wouldn't be bitter, deluded and slightly deranged.

The sad fact is just as they will never understand irony or sarcasm, Colts fans will never understand the passion that we in the east have for our teams: how we own their failures and shortcomings, taking it all to heart.  How our teams become like family members and how allegiance is passed through generations.  And how, in spite of all that, we can still see that there is more to life than football and sermons from Tony Dungy.  How we can take a measured look at it all, love it for what it is without puffing it up into some weird validation for living where we live.

Because, frankly, there are a lot of great reasons to live in New York or New England.  But I can't think of a single one for living in Indiana.  Unless it's that it's not Kentucky.

Love ya, Ponies.  See you next year.

I don't think it's the worst thing in the world, and a perfect season and handsome quarterback will pull casual/indifferent fans into actively rooting for a team or buying a sweatshirt or two, and that's understandable.  But Pats used to never sell out games at that old crappy stadium, and given the fact that they represent all of New Englad it seems like a lot of former Giant fans recently made the migration over.  

I think this guy misses the point if he thinks being super-critical of your team makes you a fiarweather fan.  I like the Red Sox (I'm a Mets fan) and their fans, but I can't stand Pats fans for the most part BECAUSE while Sox fans are realistic - which often manifests itself in pessimism and criticalness - Pats fans call into the radio everyday and predict 50 point wins, and close games only if the very good team on the other side can force 5 TURNOVERS!!  They are literally the same as the Bears fans caricatured in those old SNL skits (Brady versus Jesus? Brady!). Those are apparently the opposite of fair-weather fans?