By JOHN KLINE
A night of excitement and anticipation ended in disappointment for Colts fans across Elkhart County Sunday night as the Saints secured the title of Super Bowl Champions with a score of 31 to 17.
“It’s tough, but I’m feeling all right,” said Amber Hochstetler of Nappanee after watching the Saints secure their win during a Super Bowl party at her home Sunday night. “Everybody just laughed and said there’s always next year. That seems to be the motto here right now.”
Huge Colts fans for many years, Amber and her husband Joe had been preparing for the game for nearly two days, cleaning, cooking and gathering together friends and family to watch the game at their new home.
“It’s almost a day and a half ordeal preparing for the game,” Amber said with a laugh. “We definitely take it seriously.”
That seriousness was not hard to spot Sunday, as Joe continuously paced back and forth from his living room to the couple’s dedicated “Colts” room as the game progressed, nearly unable to watch the screen because of nerves.
“I think I’m going to throw up,” Joe said half-jokingly. “I won’t be comfortable until maybe two minutes before the end of the fourth quarter — and then only if the Colts are up by about 20 points.”
A fan of the Colts since the early ’90s, Joe said he was hoping the Saints’ relative inexperience with big games would catch them in the end, though such hope would prove to be unfruitful.
“I think the turning point was right around the second quarter when Pierre Garcon dropped the pass that would have been big yardage,” Joe said. “I think that was the turning point for New Orleans.”
Amber also saw the interception thrown by Peyton Manning in the fourth quarter as a big blow to the team.
“Peyton’s interception there in the fourth quarter definitely had a huge impact on how the game played out,” Amber said.
That said, both Amber and Joe admitted that all mistakes by the Colts aside, the Saints turned out a quality performance that could not be denied.
“You know, New Orleans played a better game,” Joe said. “There’s just nothing you can do about it.”
Even with the disappointing ending, the Hochstetlers said they still hold the Colts as their team of choice, and will continue to do so for many years to come.
“Oh yeah, like my husband said, we’re going to bleed blue. We’re going to be Colts fans forever,” Amber said with a laugh. “There’s no doubt about that. In fact, our goal is to go to one home game every year, so we’re already looking for tickets for next year’s season.”
In the meantime, Joe said he will be taking down all of his Colts memorabilia as one way to help clear the slate for the coming season.
“I’ll take my Indianapolis stuff down and put it away until next August. We’re not going to dwell on this. There’s always next season,” Joe said. “Yes, it was a big game, and it would have been great if we’d won, but we were also 14 and 2, and had a great overall season. So it’s not like we really failed.
“Also, we have two really good, up and coming wide receivers with Pierre Garcon and Austin Collie. Those guys are going to be great, so I’m looking forward to next year for sure.”
Watching the game across town at Buffalo Wild Wings in Goshen, longtime Colts fan Beth Bloss of Granger agreed.
“It really is enough for me that they made it to the Super Bowl,” Bloss said. “I’m a big fan, but it’s not the end of the world if they don’t win. I love the team, and I’m very happy they made it to the Super Bowl again. They deserve to be there.”
