Believe: The start of a new beginning

Loyal fans have been patiently waiting since 1993 for the Hoosiers to turn it around. Waiting for their lovable losers to become, at the least, satisfactory winners. \nLast Saturday’s victory over Indiana State could be the start of the reversal that lifts the Hoosiers out of the football toilet and into a much cleaner, more respectable kind of bowl. \nIt wasn’t long ago that another Indiana football team made a turnaround that ultimately ended in glory. For a majority of the 1990s, the Indianapolis Colts were the doormat of the NFL. They were one step above the football equivalent of Athletes In Action in 1991, going a miserable 1-15. Six years later, the Colts were still fighting to get out of the same hole and went 3-13 two consecutive seasons. \nBut the franchise’s record was a mirror image of year before. The Colts went 13-3 in 1999 and continued to improve gradually, culminating with their Super Bowl XLI victory over the Chicago Bears. Thank you, Rex Grossman. \nThe Hoosiers might be light years away from the Rose Bowl, but they’re not that far from the Insight.com Bowl. \nThe two football teams have more in common than just Don Fischer, who happens to do play-by-play for both teams. They both have struggled to regain the prominence they once possessed. One reason could be the state’s love for basketball, which has always put football a distant second. Even when the Colts started reaching the playoffs annually, they still struggled to sell out regular-season home games. \nYou can’t help but notice that all of Hoosier Nation wasn’t exactly defending “The Rock” in person last Saturday. Although 34,175 was Memorial Stadium’s announced attendance, the actual total was much closer to 15,000 during the second half. Apparently killing the keg is more fun than the Hoosiers doing the same to Indiana State. \nBut like the Colts’ victories, the fans eventually came. Like the current Hoosiers, the Colts built their team around spectacular-skill position players, such as Peyton Manning, Marvin Harrison and Bob Sanders. \nThey don’t fit into the exact same mold, but the Hoosiers are similar, led by Kellen Lewis, James Hardy and Tracy Porter. \nBoth teams also have well-documented struggles on defense, particularly against the run. They both lend to the football cliche of bending, not breaking. Skeptics would say the Colts could never win the big one; realists would say the Hoosiers couldn’t win one. \nLosses are something the two teams have had to deal with on and off the field. In 2005, the Colts mourned the death of their coach’s son James Dungy. His passing ultimately brought the team closer together and made the players more of a family. \nThe Hoosiers are still dealing with a loss of their own from this past summer. A firm conclusion can’t be drawn from a single game, but it does appear the Hoosiers have become more of a tight-knit group due to the loss of their leader, Terry Hoeppner. \nI’m not saying the Hoosiers have anything like the talent of the current Indianapolis Colts. But they aren’t like the team John Elway refused to play with, either. \nAt the very least, IU is a team with a lot of offensive firepower, which should be enough to beat Western Michigan on the road Saturday. \nThe Broncos lost 62-24 last week to No. 3 West Virginia and will be looking to take out their frustrations against an easier opponent at home in Week 2. They also will be ready to defend against a running quarterback such as Lewis, after being scorched by the Mountaineers’ Heisman candidate Pat White last week. \nNevertheless, I think the Hoosiers will prevail. To borrow the Colts season-long motto from last year: Believe.