Colts Patriots doesn’t hold the same appeal

Colts face off against the Patriots, but it just doesn’t feel the same.

The Indianapolis Colts squaring off against the New England Patriots used to be prime-time TV. These days, the teams have fallen from grace, however, with the Colts sitting at 4-5 and the Patriots at 2-7. The teams meet in Germany this week in a fairly low-impact affair with both teams towards the bottom of the conference.

This used to be the marquee rivalry. Peyton Manning against Tom Brady. Must see TV. It was normally two undefeated or one-loss teams meeting to determine potential home-field advantage in the AFC. The games used to be so heated and so impactful that everyone tuned in.

Nowadays, the games are put on NFL Network at 9:30 a.m. To most fans, this is a forgotten time. A time in which you wake up and don’t even realize that football has been played. Fantasy owners are upset because they forgot to set their lineups in time and a player or two has already played that they would have designated for their bench. This is where the historic Colts-Patriots rivalry has fallen; into the forgotten realm. Days gone by.

The players that made the rivalry great have long retired with many having registered for the Hall of Fame. The moments that made the rivalry classic are merely classic replays. The names and players that registered along the way are long gone. The names and faces are completely different now, and while fans may still harbor resentment, it isn’t the same. The stakes aren’t the same. The results don’t matter as much. Things are no longer as important as they used to be.

With all that said, Colts fans would still love to beat the Patriots on Sunday. Maybe it doesn’t mean the same things as before, but a win on Sunday still means something. It brings the team to .500 and continues to exact revenge against the most hated team in the NFL. No, things don’t mean the same as they used to, but it would still mean a lot to win against the Patriots.