SWITZERLAND FORUM

[Baglady]

HAPPY HALLOWEEN SWISS COLTS fans at the Titans game yesterday - Halloween costumes or wishful thinking???

[cklaurence]

That's very clever, Ms Bags. I understand that as it stands right now, the Dolphins are a bit ahead of the Colts in draft order. There is no doubt in my mind that this pretty much guarantees you Luck. Ross will absolutely give up our chance for a couple of nothing draft picks, and I'm not kidding. Take a look at his record. Very very sad, but oh so true! His moves from day one are questionable, and I haven't seen any evidence that he has taken on any advisers who have made him any smarter or helped him make better choices. We will be out of Luck and out of hope and out of the running once again...
I hate to sound so pessimistic, but Ross has done nothing to change my opinion, and if anything, he has made my mood darker this year. The final straw was the giving over of our field to the opposing team (Denver) in his salute to Tebow. Unheard of, and so destructive! Oh, and those fourth quarter, last minute collapses! Dios mio... Yes, the players have heart and try desperately to stay in it, but do not have enough to go the full sixty minutes. Those last four or five minutes are way too much for them to hang, and week after week after bloody week, they lose it right there.
Oh it's hard so hard, yes it's hard being a fan of the Dolphins!

[Emeritus]

You are both welcome to be Texans fans until things improve. I can't guarantee a certain number of wins, but I guarantee that the Texans will be in there fighting until the bitter end. And our owner is so low profile that most people don't know who owns the team. My main impression of the season so far is the favor that the Dallas Cowboys did us when they fired Wade Phillips. Last year the Texans were dead last in total defense. Half way through this season they are third.

[cklaurence]

That is so very kind of you, Em; however, you might want to re-think your invitation to me to become a fan of your dear Texans. The last person to invite me to become a fan of their team was dear Ms Bags. I took her up on it and became a strong supporter of the wonderful Colts. Need I say more?????

[Emeritus]

LOL. ck, it could be argued that I'm the least superstitious person on Earth. Unless you suit up and play in the game, I don't think that you can affect a team's success. I'm willing to take a chance on it.

[cklaurence]

That is very kind of you, Em. In every case, save when they play the Fins or the Colts (Ms Bags has yet to toss me of er guest list, lol) I will pull for Houston. You may reserve the right to ask me to step down from honorary fan lest you find your Texans suddenly take a turn for the worse when I am pulling for them though. I completely understand.

[Emeritus]

We play the Dolphins a lot, to not be in the same division, but I don't think that we will play you again this year. I can't help you with the Colts, who have problems not related to the Texans. It looks like they just lost their heart when they lost Peyton. I watched their last game and they just took themselves out of it with penalties. They have lost their rudder.

[cklaurence]

Ys, that happens. I think that happens sometimes. I think the Dolphin just figured out they lost Dan Marino...

[Emeritus]

That's an excellent comparison, ck. Dan and Peyton were both able to carry a team by themselves. I'm afraid that both of them left their fans with unrealistic expectations. How often is somebody like that going to come along?

[cklaurence]

Practically never, Em. Take Tom Brady (please--LOL). No, seriously. Everyone knows, yet few seem to be able to manage to stay with it through an entire game, but he rattles easily. Get in his face and stay there and he falls apart. He needs his team--every single player is imperative to his success. Peyton and Danny were field generals. Without running backs, often without protection (especially in Danny's case--his quick release saved the day game after game after game). They were brilliant. They called the plays and were amazing to watch. I can still see Dan licking his fingers... The excitement was electric! You knew something incredible was about to take place and there was nothing the opposition could do about it. Nope. Peyton Mannings and Daniel Constantine Marinos, who are loyal to their teams for life, and are bigger than life themselves come along very rarely (unfortunately for the fans).

[Emeritus]

They are the kind of players that make people football fans. There are those special few who are bigger than the game. Marino was the best passer ever - period! Some of his records are being broken now, but only because rule changes have made it a different game. One could only imagine what he would have done with the rules as they are now. Peyton is absolutely unique in the way that he controls a game. Being in the same division, I've had to suffer through it a couple of times every season, with Peyton putting on a clinic. No matter what a defense tries to do, he has it figured out and always throws the ball to the spot where the defense has left itself vulnerable. That obsessive preparation is hard to beat. Anybody who loves the game of football has to appreciate both of them.

[Baglady]

Grew up and will always be a NYG fan. Been in Indy quite a while so the Colts are my 'adopted' team. Spend most of my time on Colts 'stuff' since it's a smaller fanbase and shrinking each wk
Not sure Indy would have any "luck" if it weren't for bad "luck" this season - maybe that'll change next yr

That said, Colts have had a great run but if it can't be them I'm hoping the TX's can take the AFC South. Would love to see a Lions - TX's SB - what a reward for their loyal fans. BUT, can anyone stop GB???

Perfect football weather today - low's 60's and sunshine so the roof at Lucas Oil should be open and just maybe we can have the 1st game where the announcers don't refer to it as a "dome"

GO COLTS............... GO GIANTS

G' Luck to your teams and enjoy the games

[dredwak]

vs

[Emeritus]

3872489_texans_v_jaguars.jpg (33.72 KiB) Viewed 15913 times

I agree, dred. Go Texans!

[cklaurence]

Hey everyone! (Dred--you are a man of few words, regardless, I am always happy to see you here!!!!!) Yes, I agree with Ms Bags, best to everyone to day. May all your teams win your games (I don't believe my Fins are a threat to anyone here--or to the team they are playing, lol).

[Emeritus]

LOL. The Texans-Browns game isn't exactly a nail-biter.

[cklaurence]

Dolphin/Chiefs game is looking status quo. Fins go up early. Come back in the second half, dropping balls, missing coverage and generally looking like they're going to give it all back and lose when it's over. Sadness.

[cklaurence]

Dear friends and family Swiss: I don't know who those guys were that showed up in the Fins' uniforms today physically resembling my Dolphin players, but any resemblance to the team that has shown up over the past seven weeks ended there! This team came with the intention of winning and did everything possible toward that end through to the final second of the game. I don't know if anyone else saw it, but it was truly a miracle. Somehow you knew they weren't going to blow it in the fourth quarter. The game was theirs, clearly--and it felt good to watch.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

[Emeritus]

The Dolphins not only won, they kicked ass! That's what I'm talking about!

[cklaurence]

Me too, Mr. Emeritus--Me too!!!!!

[Emeritus]

I was just reading an article by Brian Billick on the mid-season report cards. He said that the best free agent in the NFL was Wade Phillips. I so agree!

[Emeritus]

I just checked the latest stats. The Houston Texans now rank first in total defense, second in pass defense and fourth in run defense. We we last just a year ago! It is a pretty good argument for how much difference a coach can make.

[cklaurence]

No doubt about it, Em. And when you have a bad owner AND a bad coach, you are really screwed!

[Emeritus]

LOL, if you have a bad owner, good luck in getting a good coach. The good ones just won't coach for a bad owner.

[cklaurence]

Big wonderful day for me! Em and Craig came into town in the middle of the night--dog and cat in tow (Princess is not a happy camper. I'll be caring for the pets for two weeks until they return to get them on their way back to Tampa, where they will be settling in (for a long while, I hope). Maverick (their dog) is a wild man--great for protection. Not that Princess wouldn't kill for us, but Maverick makes the noise to let people know he's a killer. Princess is demure, quiet and has a sweet look about her. Anyone would think they were safe around her, but one wrong move and she will tear them to bits! She has that instinct--it's amazing Anyway, it's going to be a tough two weeks, but it's worth it because I get to see the kids two times and if I hadn't agreed to hold on to the grandpets, I only would have gotten to see them once--or maybe not at all until they were settled and I could get up there to visit. Horrors!
It's screwed my timing up too. We've always visited on weekends, so this feels like a weekend. I can't get adjusted!

[Emeritus]

When I was a small boy, we had a chow dog. He was sort of a super chow - bigger than any than I ever saw. Chows are extremely territorial. If people, or dogs, stayed out of our yard, they didn't exist to Chong. If they did come into the yard, they had better belong there. We had a bell at the gate, with instructions to ring it so that an escort could come to meet them there.
Most of the time Chong was a low-strung, friendly dog. If an intruder entered the yard he was absolutely transformed. The ruff around his neck would stand up and his lips would stretch back to reveal some fearsome teeth. What was remarkable about Chong was that he never barked. I don't know that he was capable of barking. My dad told a visitor about that and the man said that Chong couldn't be much of a watchdog if he didn't bark. My dad said, "It is not a problem. If somebody sneaks into our yard we will hear them screaming."

[cklaurence]

That's pretty funny, Em. Besenjis don't have a bark. They make some gravelly noises and squeaks, but they can learn to bark if they are around other dogs. Princess is a Besenji/Shiba Inu mix, so she does a little gravelling, a little squeaking and when she feels it's necessary something I very definitely call barking. By the time Maverick leaves in two weeks, I have no doubt she will also be howling like a beagle, because that's what Maverick does constantly. Charming, just charming.
I started Princess on homeopathic anxiety meds not a moment too soon...

[Emeritus]

I've been seeing all of the appreciation of our men and women in the military and contrasting it with the attitude when I served. I went when I was called even though I hate war, came home a cripple and was treated like a criminal. I was bitter about it for years. People transferred their dislike of the war to those who had to fight it.

[cklaurence]

I don't understand that at all, Em. I was out there protesting the war with crowds from Miami to Boston and everyone I was with protested against the war, not those fighting it! It was a DRAFT war, not a voluntary army. Most everyone fighting it did not want to be there in the first place. We felt awful for the soldiers--over there and when they came home, and never ever were disrespectful!

[Emeritus]

LOL, I just noted your signature, ck. I know that it's been a bad year, but ... .