History Repeats Itself -- Mitch Doesn't Notice

It's funny -- every now and then, America's Greatest Sports Columnist Ever writes about SPORTS. True, he hasn't done so yet in 2010, choosing instead to watch himself on the Simpsons for 4 straight days.

But Mitch's last column of 2009 was indeed about sports. He tackled the fact that the 14-0 Indianapolis Colts rested their star players in the third quarter of a game against the Jets. Mitch called it a "safe move," and an "insult to the game."

On page 2 of the article, His Excellence claims that winning is what gives a team an edge, not making sure star players stay healthy. "Winning is its own momentum. You don't mess with it. You always go for it."

Interesting, sure. I have always supported the theory that players should try their hardest at all times. However, the NFL is a brutal game. The Colts had the Division and home-field advantage wrapped up, with absolutely nothing to gain but a meaningless perfect REGULAR season. Perfect seasons aren't perfect seasons if you lose in the playoffs -- just ask the New England Patriots.

Now, what's really interesting about the Colts resting players is they did it before. The year was 1958, and another Hall of Fame quarterback -- Johnny Unitas -- was at the helm. The Colts wrapped up their division by week 12, and traveled to the West Coast for the remaining two contests. And guess what? They rested their starters. GASP! The Colts dropped the last two games to the Rams and the 49ers, doing what many call "backing into the playoffs." In 1958, there were no wild card games, divisional games or conference championships. You won your division, then you played for the title. End of story. So Johnny U., Raymond Berry and all the other Hall of Famers on that Colts team sat for two weeks without playing a down.

The end of that story is that the Colts won the most important game in the history of the NFL -- the Greatest Game Ever Played.

After the resting by the 2009 version of the Colts, Mitch said "the game deserves more." Maybe spending a few minutes with the Freep's microfiche machine would have helped him discover that this is how the game has been for 50 years. Mitch -- your readers deserve more.