Kennon Houck pounded his fist in his hand in frustration as New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees completed pass after pass during a fourth quarter drive that put the Indianapolis Colts behind.
The emotional high point of the game for him was the Colts' goal-line stand just after the two-minute warning in the first half. He and every other Colts fan had no such luck this time. The Saints pushed the ball into the end zone and took the lead.
Houck, a Muncie resident, threw his head back and let out a sigh of anger and impatience.
Then they went for a two-point conversion that would put them ahead by seven points. Houck sat at the edge of his seat and watched the play unfold. At first, it seemed as if the Colts had stifled the pass play. His confidence was restored and he shared an ecstatic moment with the crowd.
After the commercial break, the emotional pendulum swung back to depression as further review of the play resulted in the Saints receiving two points to put them ahead by seven.
Houck watched Super Bowl XLIV with a friend at the half-full Mugly's Pub and Eatery. He sat, eyes fixed on the TV screen, concentrating as the game unfolded. The crowd reacted in unison at every big play with excitement, anxiety, shock, disappointment, frustration, hope or disgust in a three-and-a-half-hour storm of emotions.
Houck has been a Colts fan since 1984, he said, before most students were born. He grew up just south of Fort Wayne and has always liked the way the organization conducts itself.
"It starts at the top and comes down," he said. "They all stand up and do what they need to do. That's the Colts. That's what you'd expect out of them."
Houck had no soft spot for the underdog Saints. He felt no dilemma between supporting the Colts, his favorite team since his childhood, and the Saints, the sentimental favorites to win.
Houck's mood fluctuated with the score, but he had a nervous confidence throughout the game.
His confidence was shaken again after Colts' quarterback Peyton Manning threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter. It put the Saints up by two touchdowns.
His confidence was shattered with 44 seconds left in the game and when the Colts failed to convert on fourth and goal.
Along with many other people in the bar — heads hanging, four-letter words wafting through the air — he didn't feel much like talking after the loss became imminent. He picked up his jacket and left.
"Just say disappointed," he said as he walked out the door with a disappointed smile on his face. "You win some, you lose some."
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
