The Hlog

Fans, or Cult Members?

OK, I was in the RCA Dome Sunday for the Indianapolis Colts' AFC playoff loss to the San Diego Chargers, and it was quite the scene. Amazingly loud, an interesting game with all sorts of unlikely twists and turns, and a surprise result in the Chargers winning.

What struck me, and what always strikes me at NFL and major-college football games, is how tribal it all seems for the fans. From my press box perch, the field was ringed by blue and white. It isn't an exaggeration to estimate three-fourths of all the fans in the stadium were wearing Colts home or road jerseys with the name and number of a favorite player on the back.

This is the way it is at all NFL stadiums. Apparently, you can't be a real fan unless you wear a team jersey. Nothing else cuts it.

A new stadium with a retractable roof is going up next door to the RCA Dome. It was build it, Indianapolis, or the Colts would bolt. So they're building it. And the RCA Dome will be demolished once it's built. The RCA Dome just didn't have the luxury suites that are so lucrative to sports teams. So, less than a quarter-century old, it has to go.

We just may be a disposable culture.
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