Is this just fantasy?

Long have I been a fan of the Indianapolis Colts.

I can still remember the magically mold-breaking season of 1995 when then-Colts’ quarterback Jim Harbaugh (Captain Comeback himself) led our team deep into what was our first playoff appearance in many years.

Though my nine-year-old brain simply couldn’t comprehend the last time we’d seen such a successful season (born in 1986, we hadn’t appeared in the playoffs since 1987), I nonetheless became caught up in the excitement that was so palpable around me.

“We’re going to the playoffs!” my father and uncles would say. “‘The Cap’ might just take us all the way!”

Though we didn’t make it to the Super Bowl that year and ended our season with the conference championship, something within me had been permanently altered with absolutely zero hope of returning to a sports-naive mind thanks to nearly a month of ballooning excitement...

I had officially become a Colts fan.

And now, after more than 20 years, I feel myself changing again. But unlike the change in 1995, I’m not so sure it’s a good thing.

With the explosion of fantasy football’s popularity in recent years, many-a-fan has taken to the internet with hopes of winning a tiny championship of their very own.

I was one of those, having started playing the electronic “sport” in 2008 after the worldwide program had been firmly established, and I quickly became wrapped up in research and study because I was, of course, sure to defeat my friends and family members for the ultimate bragging rights in my relatively sad social network.

With my mind thoroughly focused on individual players instead of whole teams, I began to notice how excited I would become when a team that I had so notoriously rooted against would score a touchdown simply because a particular player was on my fantasy roster.

Since then, and after finishing terribly in fantasy leagues for many years, I finally decided to avoid putting so much stock into fantasy football indulgence; point being -- I began to lose focus on my Colts fanship and had instead developed a thinly-spread loyalty base that began encroaching on my love for the Horseshoe.

I can even recall a time when disappointment didn’t strike me nearly as hard as it should simply because Peyton didn’t score a touchdown against my fantasy defense.

What had I become?

Since then, my participation in the fantasy world has been hit-or-miss. Though I still flood my veins with the electronic current of individual statistics and performances, I tend to take a step back when I feel like I’m beginning to overindulge to affectively prevent my interests from hitting the fantasy boards too hard and thus remain ultimately loyal to the Blue and White.

Though the Colts are currently struggling at 1-3 overall (0-1 in conference play) -- and, despite the fact that my fantasy team (apply-named Slow White Bronco) is currently leading my league with a 4-0 record -- I have found that following an entire, literal team of actual players is much more rewarding than the selfish nature of fantasy football stock.

With a full team, you get what is so quintessential and timeless through which sports exist: teamwork, cooperation, strategy, challenge, heart, determination, goals, successes, losses, character building, development and support.

Therefore, my challenge to the sports world is this: Take a step back and decide whether you are truly loyal to your favorite NFL team as a whole, or just partially to your fantasy football team.