Indianapolis Colts President Bill Polian on fans-team controversy: 'The past is prologue'

Indianapolis Colts President Bill Polian
(Michael Conroy/AP Photo)

Bill Polian's message was clear this week.

Whatever happened in the past is in the past, the Indianapolis Colts President said Monday on his weekly radio show, and now's the time to put it there.

Polian, in his first radio show since a well-documented, oft-analyzed show last week in which many fans called in angry comments and questions regarding the previous day's loss to the New York Jets, this week said the most important thing he wanted fans to know was this:

The team needs their support.

And he said that's especially true with the postseason at hand.

“The past is prologue,” Polian said on his weekly radio show on Hank FM 97.1 in Indianapolis. “What happens now is that everybody's 0-0. Six teams make it into the AFC playoffs. Everyone is 0-0. Every team is good. Every team has flaws. We were because of the 14-2 record able to do a marvelous and rarely done thing, which is to ensure ourselves of home-field advantage for as long as we last in the playoffs.

“That's important for the following reason: everything that is written or spoken about these upcoming playoffs will have zero effect on how the game is played and what the outcome of the game will be. The only people who can affect the game will be the people in this building – the players, the coaches, the administrators . . . and our fans.”

Fans the previous week on Polian's show questioned why the Colts removed starters such as QB Peyton Manning while leading the Jets, 15-10, with 5:36 remaining in the third quarter. The Jets outscored the Colts 19-0 thereafter, and Indianapolis lost, failing to become the second team in NFL history to start a season 15-0.

Polian said last week the Colts never focused on 16-0 and that the motivation for removing the starters was to be as healthy as possible for the postseason.

This week, Polian focused on the fans' importance – not only to reaching 14-2, but in how the Colts will fare in the postseason.

“One of the major reasons we're 14-2 is because we have the greatest fans in the league, and because this (Lucas Oil Stadium) is the toughest place to play in the league,” Polian said. “The fans are part of that 14-2. They're part of this marvelous decade, a huge part of this marvelous decade we just witnessed. We need them to be part of this journey upon which we're about to embark. Without them, we lose a valuable member of our team. They are the 12th man.”

Polian then asked the fans to “Rest those voices. Use the bye week to be rested up. Get those voices in shape. Get the jerseys cleaned up. Use the bye week to rest and relax and let's come out on Saturday night the 16th of January at 8:15 and be the team – and by that I mean players, coaches, organization and fans – that we have been for the last 10 years that allowed us to be one of the premier teams in the league.”

Polian elaborated on the fans several times in the one-hour show:

* “You talk to players around the league. Look at any survey that's taken among players. They'll tell you that Indianapolis is if not the toughest place to play in the league one of the two or three toughest. When you get into a playoff situation where emotion carries so much and where every little mistake is magnified because of what's at stake, that advantage is gigantic. Just stop and think about this for a moment. Is New England quite as uncomfortable executing that audible (in a November Colts victory)? Are they more crisp at home than they would have been on the road? Is it as difficult to communicate? The answer is, of course, no. They would be much better off at home. We're at a huge advantage at our place if our fans continue to be into it as they have. We need them to be. That's the message that I think everybody in this organization wants to convey to the fans: 'Not only are you in large measure responsible for the 14-2 and for getting us here, and for getting us homefield, but we need you now more than ever. That's what the homefield is all about.”

* “We're all this together. We can only go so far as all of us help each other go.”

* “As I said before, the past is prologue. There's nothing we can do to change what's happened in the past – the 14 wins or the two losses. There's nothing we can do about that except perhaps to celebrate it. You make the point that you (fans) expect winning: believe me, winning is not easy in this league and I'm glad that you've come to expect it. I really am. You (fans) are a big part of it, but we can't do it without you. As we approach the playoffs, which is the critical time when we really need that support and when the margin of error and the difference between teams shrink dramatically – everybody's good in the playoffs. Everybody has flaws, too. There are no Superteams, but everybody is good. That's why they got here. We sold out to get the home-field advantage. All of those injuries that I cited are proof of that. We sold out to get the home-field advantage. Guys played hurt all season long. We played nail-biter games all season long. We don't need to repeat that. Everybody knows that, but the bottom line is we now have the home-field advantage. We have what everybody fought so hard for. We need everybody's support going forward. We need everybody to play their role. It isn't a matter of support. It's a matter of playing their role. The crowd is a major, major factor in our building. That's why we fought so hard to get the home-field advantage. The past is prologue. That's over and done with and now we need to get on with the job of trying to go as far as we can go in the playoffs. We need the fans very badly in order to that.”

* “I respect the opinions of every fan. You're entitled to your opinion. Everybody in this building respects your opinion. We have ours and they differ a lot. Sometimes we're right. Sometimes you're right. That's what makes the world go around. The most important thing, however, to us is to get home-field advantage throughout as long as we play. I'm not one to say we're the best team in the National Football League. In fact, I never say that. Every team in this playoffs is a good team. Every team has some flaws. No one's perfect. The salary-cap system sees to it that that's the case. The bottom line is getting home-field advantage was a terrific, terrific accomplishment. It has sort of been lost in the shuffle, but it's not there any longer. The past is prologue. What's done is done. Now, we have to look to the future, to the playoffs. We have gotten here and gotten home-field because the fans are an integral part – the 12th man is an integral part – of what we do. We need them 100 percent and fired up.”

* "It is very hard to win in this league, and what we've accomplished this year with 14 wins and getting the home-field throughout is a major accomplishment. It's rare, and it doesn't happen very often. The reason it's so important is we do have the benefit of the best fans in football. The past is prologue. We need all together to come together now. It's in our hands – fans, team – we can make this happen. But we can't do it without you.”

Reviewing Bill Polian's weekly radio show . . .

* Part One: "The past is prologue." Here.

* Part Two: Pursuing milestones "right decision." Here.

* Part Three: Colts could be fully healthy entering postseason. Here.

* Part Four: Difficulties against New York fatigue, not rust. Here.

COFFEE WITH THE COLTS. NEXT-DAY LOOK AT COLTS-BILLS. HERE.

BILLS 30, COLTS 7. HERE.

MANNING: WE NEED TO PUT LAST WEEKEND BEHIND US. HERE.

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS OWNER JIM IRSAY SUPPORTED DECISION AGAINST JETS. HERE.

AN UNBEATEN SEASON THAT WASN'T: A FINAL LOOK AT AN UNRESOLVABLE CONFLICT. HERE

FREENEY: PRO BOWL NEVER GETS OLD. HERE

TE DALLAS CLARK, QB PEYTON MANNING AMONG SIX PRO BOWLERS FOR COLTS. HERE.

* POLIAN: "16-0 WAS NEVER THE FOCUS." HERE.

WR ANTHONY GONZALEZ GOES ON IR: HERE.

FOURTH MVP WOULD CEMENT MANNING'S STATUS AS BEST EVER. HERE

CALDWELL: "THAT'S WHAT WE DO. WE STAND BY IT AND LIVE BY IT" HERE.

DOES PEYTON MANNING GET TOO MUCH RESPECT? HERE

POLIANS' CONTRACTS EXTENDED. HERE

COLTS FANS OWE RB JOSEPH ADDAI AN APOLOGY. HERE

*** CATCH UP WITH ALL THINGS COLTS ON INDY FOOTBALL REPORT. HERE

*** READ JOHN OEHSER'S INDIANA PACERS COVERAGE. HERE.