Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
MICHAEL MAROT
Associated Press
INDIANAPOLIS - Now the Indianapolis Colts must get back to work.
After two days of endless parties, wild celebrations and several congratulatory gestures, players will try to insulate themselves from the city's suddenly circus-like environment.
At the team complex on Indy's west side, they can at least find a refuge.
There, team officials are keeping late hours to finalize preparations for Miami. On Wednesday, the players will get back into a more normal routine of studying game plans, attending meetings and working out a few kinks ahead of their matchup with the Chicago Bears.
"I think (owner) Jim Irsay said it best when he said it was a great night for our city, our fans and our organization," coach Tony Dungy said on team president Bill Polian's radio show Monday night. "But it's not finished, and we can't be happy just getting to the Super Bowl. We've got to win it."
This week's distractions include everything from making travel arrangements for players' families, to locking up ticket requests to answering an abundance of phone calls.
Everyone wants something, it seems, even if it's just a few precious minutes to chat.
Dungy, too, got caught in the whirlwind, saying he stayed out late Sunday after Indianapolis won its first AFC championship with a 38-34 victory over New England.
But the Colts' coach believes his team can handle the hoopla. Indianapolis features the businesslike personalities of two-time MVP Peyton Manning and Pro Bowl receivers Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne, and is facing another daunting challenge against one of the league's toughest defenses.
Besides, the Colts are still chasing that elusive Super Bowl ring.
"We know, from the last four years, that if you lose or when you lose in the playoffs, you feel no better than any of the other teams because it's such a crushing defeat," Dungy said. "So when you want to get to the Super Bowl, you want to win it."
The transition can sometimes be bumpy. That's part of the reason Dungy will go with his regular schedule this week.
Players took Monday and Tuesday off - a reward Dungy gives his players after wins in November, December and January - and will practice the next three days.
The one change will be taking next weekend off before arriving in Miami where Dungy knows distractions will be at an all-time high.
The trick will be avoiding the temptations and making sure everyone understands this is a business trip.
"I was thinking that is the game, we're on our way to Miami," Colts defensive back Marlin Jackson said about his game-sealing interception against the Patriots.
Jackson, the Colts' first-round draft pick in 2005, managed to keep that thought inside long enough to do the smart thing - slide safely to the ground.
A week earlier, he said he'd seen Patriots receiver Troy Brown strip Chargers safety Marlon McCree of the ball after what seemed to be a game-ending turnover. But the Patriots recovered the fumble, scored a touchdown and made a 2-point conversion to tie it at 21 before eventually winning 24-21.
Against Chicago, Indy needs its offense to duplicate Sunday's second-half effort. The defense also has to harass Bears quarterback Rex Grossman into making mistakes - something he didn't do against New Orleans.
Focusing may not be easy this week, but the Colts know they must if they intend to set off an even wilder celebration in two weeks.
"This is the pinnacle of your professional life in the NFL," Polian said. "Now it's time to write your name in the history books."