Year 13 – Trying Times

With the sudden absence of Peyton Manning, these are trying times for Colt fans. Never fear, The Horseshoe is ready to carry the torch for those lucky few who strap on their helmets and play ball. You see, this game has always been about more than a single player no matter their abilities. And while we are off to the rockiest of starts, the ultimate success of any season will be measure by the contributions of every player on the roster, not just those who spend time in the limelight. The QBs and wide outs will get their due, of course, but we share the love with those teeth gnashing linemen and steel toed punters, just the same. Read on. You’ll see.

Football is a game of simple grace and power, grit and glory unleashed in small explosions. It’s poetry in motion. Fast forward, that is. The ‘Shoe doesn’t need pages of stat-crunching analysis to find the essence of the game. 17 weeks. 17 syllables. That’s all we need. Beat that, ESPN.

The Horseshoe is written by Stephen Conway. I’ve been a Colt fan since their days in Baltimore. Yes, odd as it sounds, I grew up in Indiana in the 1970s cheering on Bert Jones, Lydell Mitchell, Barry Krauss, Nesby Glasgow, and Curtis Dickey. When the team arrived less than an hour from my door in 1984, it was clear my devotion to the team had been rewarded beyond all measure. I am a writer, filmmaker and podcast producer, so it seemed only fitting I put my passion for poetry and football to work. Not many people are crazy enough to write over 1,000 haiku on any subject, let alone professional football. And that is probably a good thing! I hope you have fun reading/listening to The ‘Shoe. I still have a great time putting each issue together, just like a great clock-killing Colts drive, one word, one yard, one line at a time.

NOTE: we’re returning to our roots this year on The ‘Shoe. In the past several years, we have produced an audio and a text version of the newsletter each week. This year will be text only.