My football-filled weekend

I don’t get chills easily.

Most of the time, I’ll get chills if I’m watching an excellent movie or at a special event with family, but it’s rare.

This weekend, I got chills on two separate occasions, both football-related.

Friday night was my first opportunity to witness the historic rivalry between Linton and Sullivan, and it lived up to all of the hype.
I’ll confess I wasn’t very familiar with Linton or Sullivan before I started considering taking this job, but as soon as I announced that I took this job, I started hearing about this rivalry that dates back to 1904.

I always get to games early, especially football games. Maybe it’s how I was raised (if you’re on time, you’re late) or it’s just my nature as a sports journalist to try and see if there’s any special stories I can pick out before the game, but this game I knew I wanted to be there early just for a chance to soak it all in.

The parking lots were packed with cars, the stands were full well before kick off, and even the weather cooperated with a gorgeous day that led into a perfect evening for football, just chilly enough to feel relaxed but not cold enough to need a jacket.

The game, while not a high scoring one, was one of the more entertaining games that I have covered.

A punt returned for a touchdown, a blocked punt for a safety, every play the 22 athletes battled for an extra inch, knowing that it could be the deciding factor.

Linton pulled out the victory thanks to late-game heroics from sophomore Paul Oliver and I walked away from the game in awe of the rivalry between these two communities.

Linton Head Coach Brian Oliver summed it up best as I walked up to him after the game: “Welcome to Linton/Sullivan football.”

But that wasn’t the end of the weekend for my football experience.

On Sunday, I went to Indianapolis to see the week one game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Partly, I just wanted to go because I didn’t know when I’d have another chance to get over there and see the new version of the Colts, but also I wanted to be there for the first time No. 4 draft pick quarterback Anthony Richardson took the helm for the Colts and started this new era of Indianapolis football.

As soon as you got near the stadium, you could feel it.

Something Colts fans haven’t experienced for a while: hope.

Yes, part of it is due to a new season with a fresh slate, every team walks into week one feeling optimistic about the season.

But this wasn’t just week one hope, this was different.

This was a hope that the Colts have their franchise quarterback, after floundering since the 2018 Andrew Luck retirement.

Fans were flooding into the stadium in a sea of blue jerseys, most recognizable.

Always a few Peyton Manning jerseys, Shaq Leonard’s 53, some Jonathan Taylor jerseys, but there was another jersey that outnumbered the rest.

The stadium was packed before the starting lineup was announced, for good reason.

After Michael Pittman Jr. was announced, there was only one player left to walk out of the tunnel.

“Froooooom Florida” the announcer boomed and you could hardly hear the rest of the sentence due to the ensuing cheers. “Quarterback, Number five, Anthonyyyyy Richardson”

I’ve been fortunate enough to attend many Colts games throughout my life and I don’t remember a time where Lucas Oil Stadium was louder, except in the second quarter when Richardson scored his first career touchdown on a QB keeper.

Sure, the Colts lost but Richardson showed why he was a No. 4 draft pick and why he was given the reins for the Colts; he was even named a team captain in his rookie season.

He’s going to give us Colts fans plenty of breathtaking moments this year. He’ll also make some bone-headed decisions, like every rookie does.

Linton vs Sullivan is also bound to give us many more breathtaking moments in the future. The two teams have been delivering classic moments since 1904 with no signs of slowing down.

I’m not sure how many games the Colts will win this season or how far Linton will go in the playoffs this year, but one thing is for sure.

I’m going to feel a chill, maybe even two.