It sure didn’t feel like a home game…
You could feel the energy in Lucas Oil as the Indianapolis Colts hosted the Detroit Lions. As a pass was made over the middle, the crowd roared. When there was a tackle for loss, the building shook. Those are things you expect on gameday for the Colts. The only problem was it wasn’t the home team fans bringing that type of energy. Just a short 4.5 hour drive away, Lions fans made the trek to cheer on their team and seemingly turned a road game into a matchup from Ford Field.
Where there is usually a smattering of other colors in the stands, this game was a sea of blue. Unfortunately, it was more Lions’ blue and gray than Colts blue and white. As fans entered the doors and rode the escalator up to their seats chants of “Jared Goff. Jared Goff,” broke out. It was so loud, you could barely speak to the person next to you. Lion heads and full on lion costumes could be seen above the throng of fans. It was a complete and utter takeover.
There are always going to be opposing fans in your stadium, but it felt like Sofi Stadium in which the opponent completely takes over the building. That shouldn’t happen in Indianapolis. That shouldn’t happen to the Colts. It begs the question, why?
There are a few reasons that come to mind.
Proximity is the first. When you have a team that is within driving distance and shares a state border, expect more opposing fans.
Secondly, the Lions are good, like really good. That isn’t always the case. Since they are finally seeing success, their fan base is fully energized.
A tertiary reason is that the Colts are just meh. They have been up and down and are stuck in no man’s land currently. Outside of the playoffs looking in while not having a clear path towards the future lowers the enthusiasm.
Take these three things together and it makes sense that Lions fans completely swarmed Lucas Oil. It doesn’t mean it is acceptable, but I get it. If you have a chance to make some good money on a ticket resale and watch the game from the comfort of your own home, the appeal is definitely there. Hopefully, the Colts will get back to the days where opposing fans find obtaining tickets extremely difficult and we pack the stadium with our own. Until then, the team will have to get used to a little extra noise on offense.
