On Tuesday night, the Indianapolis Colts took to the field in Anderson, Indiana for the first of two night time practices for their 2012 training camp. As the Colts work on their reloading process, which includes a new coaching staff, as well as a re-vamped defense, offense, and rookie starting quarterback, the Colts find themselves trying to bring some fans back into the fold. The Colts went 2-14 last season, after a decades’s worth of 10+ win seasons.
The news in and around Colts training camp has been mostly positive, giving even fair-weather fans a bit of hope for the future of this franchise. The night time practices give an opportunity to certain fans in and around Indianapolis a chance to see the team practice after 9am-5pm work hours. Cooler temperatures helped lead thousands of fans out to see this young Colts team show a bit of what’s to come, followed by actual fireworks at the end of practice, when new head coach Chuck Pagano expressed his appreciation for the fans in attendance.
“It’s a good change of pace for the guys to get out here under the lights,” Pagano said. “(We) Wanna thank the fans. The guys really feed off their energy, their enthusiasm.”
Rookie quarterback Andrew Luck spoke on how he will feel going into his first pro first pro game. “I’ll be nervous, ya know, I think I’ll have some butterflies. You get nerves, you get out there, and it all calms down, but it’s a little healthy to be nervous before a game.”
The Colts will take Wednesday off, but will return to practice on Thursday afternoon.