Being a Patriots fan, I was happy they didn’t tie their mark. But as a football fan, I felt cheated they didn’t at least try.

That’s a once in a lifetime opportunity – to go for the undefeated mark. The 2007 Patriots failed miserably at the end, losing the Super Bowl. But I guarantee you the fate of the 2009 Colts, another Super Bowl loser, felt just as bad.

Colts management wasn’t at all considerate to the players with that decision.
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And they clearly weren’t thinking about the fans. Ya know, the people who actually pay their salaries and watch them play.

As a fellow Patriots fan, I can also say it was heart-breaking to lose that big game. However, the regular season (and even most of the postseason) was a hundred times more exciting as it went on week after week. And the week 17 game against the Giants was a nailbiter!

But that’s the point of the game – to win. I would much prefer my team to go 18-0 and lose, then to have an opportunity to get that record and sit back and do nothing.

But here’s the thing…

and im not sure why people don’t realize this, because I sure did as the 2009 season was winding down…

Had Indy gone on to beat the Jets in Week 15 that season, the Colts would have most likely played the 13-3 Chargers in the AFC title game instead of the Jets. In fact, its probably the reason why they made the SB that year since the Chargers had Indy’s number and were handing them key losses like the one in the previous postseason when the Chargers beat the Colts in overtime. Instead the Colts called in the fighter J-E-T-S to take care of the Chargers for them otherwise the Colts would have been 16-0 without an appearance in SB 44.

For the love of the game how many times does that type of opportunity even show up in a football lifetime?!!!

In the game that REALLY mattered, after going up 10-0 early against the Saints, they were outscored 31-7, and lost by two touchdowns.

So a no-loss season would’ve only made it that much more painful to have gotten beaten like that in the Super Bowl.

Colts lose SB, so they should have tried to go undefeated?

Pats did that, got tight, and lost. So they shouldn’t have?

Hello, this is no right or wrong answer!

The 2009 Colts will have an effect on the way teams handle those situations for decades to come.

The thing that made it more outrageous is the fact they started the starters the next week and threw a bunch of WR screens so Wayne and PM, etc could rack up stats and records. Individual players’ stats are important, a shot at NFL history for the TEAM is not, that’s what that move said. Irsay should have fired Polian right after SB 44.

If Manning was any kind of real leader & had any cojones he would have taken the bull by the horns, rallied the team & coaching staff en masse, coersed the decision by management and marched his troops to a true shot at NFL greatness!! That was his moment to put it all on the line & he didn’t rise to the occassion.

Instead for two games we got to see a pampered pansy Manning pouting on the sideline throughout the whole game as if he was a victim of the circumstances & helpless to do anything about it. Not much of a gridiron moment to remember.

Sure he has a super bowl ring & stats up the ying yang but you have to be unreasonable when facing difficult circumstances that define your career if you truly want to be considered great! How awesome it would have if he’d gone for the Hollywood ending here….. Manning couldn’t take it any more and just ran out on the field at one point with his starters and led the Colts to 15 wins, then 16 wins. I would have still rooted for him to loose the super bowl but he would have at least gained my respect.

He played it safe & look what that got him, the team, organization & especially the fans.

For everyone that is in favor of resting starters, remember that those same starters can get hurt on the first play of the first playoff game just as easily. Who knows if the Saints win that Super Bowl if the Colts had the mojo of being undefeated. It’s a shame.

What happened in December had absolutely no bearing on what happened in February. They earned the 1 seed, the bye, played well in the Playoffs, and went on to the Super Bowl… what did the Regular Season have to do with the Super Bowl?

If I were Jeff, I’d regret losing in the Super Bowl more than I would have regretted the record.

I’m not buying anyone’s reasoning that if they would have won in December after having the Bye locked up then they somehow would have played better 5-6 weeks later, that makes no sense.

Either way, he’s a legendary Colt and could potentially go to work as a rep for the Player’s Union immediately.

It was the first – and only – time I ever felt bad for the Colts players, especially Saturday, on the sideline. The Irsay, Polian, Caldwell contingent basically told their players, ‘we don’t think you can handle the pressure’ which is a killer.

On a good note, it shut up the group that insisted if the 2007 Patriots hadn’t been so arrogant and lost a regular season game, they would have won the Super Bowl.