INDIANAPOLIS – The floor was Frank Gore's to say whatever he wanted.
Knowing the Colts were about to miss the playoffs for a second straight season---both with Gore at running back---the veteran runner took the opportunity to apologize.
Gore even thinking that he needed to "say sorry" was not necessary.
Individually, Gore is one of the hardest workers the Colts have and a player whose passion is never questioned.
But Gore felt the need to speak to the fans.
"I want to apologize to our fans," Gore said during a one-on-one interview hosted by safety Mike Adams late in the season.
"I know what they are used to here. This organization is winning football, playoff, Super Bowl football. I want to say sorry that we didn't get it done. Hopefully we get things right. Hopefully some key players come back. Next year, we've just got to grind and get back to what this organization is used to---getting to the playoffs, winning this division and trying to go get that trophy.
"I just want to apologize to all the fans, all the fans who root for the 'Shoe."
The phrase "hate to lose more than you love to win" applies to Gore.
From a personal statistical standpoint, Gore's 2016 season was a success, especially when you compare his year to the past decade of Colts' running backs.
In becoming the Colts' first 1,000-yard rusher since 2007, Gore did exactly what this team was looking for from him when the two parties came together in 2015.
Productivity and durability.
Gore now heads into 2017 playing the final season of the three-year deal he signed with the Colts back in 2015.
He will also be 34 years old when Week One rolls around next September.
Past NFL history says the Colts should be looking for a Gore replacement. Now.
Gore's resume says otherwise.
*-A 34-year-old running back has never started all 16 games in NFL history. *Gore hasn't missed a game since 2010.
*-Only six backs in NFL history age 34 or older have run for at least 800 yards in a season. *Gore's 1,025 yards this past season were the most a player his age has had since 1984.
*-The NFL hasn't seen a team have a 34-year-old starting running back coming into a season in more than decade (Emmitt Smith, 2004). *Gore has started 92 straight games, 71 more than the next best active streak in the NFL.
The odds say Gore shouldn't still be starting in 2017.
But he's proven otherwise.
"I wouldn't doubt him," offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski says of the guy he coached in college.
"I would never bet against Frank Gore."
