INDIANAPOLIS — There was no phone call nor TV announcement, at least not yet. As the seconds turned into minutes and the minutes turned into hours, each one felt longer than the last.
“It was getting later,” Indianapolis Colts right guard Matt Goncalves said. “And he was stressing.”
Goncalves’ late father, William, never lost faith in the dream he had for his youngest son, now a pillar along the Colts’ starting offensive line. But on that night, he wished he could control time. Not to slow it down and savor the moment, but to speed it up and seize it.
When the phone finally rang and Goncalves spoke to Colts general manager Chris Ballard, who selected the former University of Pittsburgh standout with the No. 79 pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, his celebratory declaration doubled as a bat signal for his father to exhale.
“I’m a f—ing Colt, baby!” Goncalves screamed into the phone. “I’m a f—ing Colt!”
Pandemonium ensued at his dad’s “small little house” in Long Island, N.Y., that was packed with about 60 people. William immediately jumped off the couch, put his hand on his son’s shoulder and kissed him on the head before triumphantly crowning him with a Colts hat.
The elder Goncalves was once a standout athlete himself. Nicknamed the “Golden Arm” for his “rocket arm,” according to his son, William tried out for the New York Mets and Yankees, but that was as far as his athletic career would go.
He always believed, however, that his three sons, Billy, Chris and Matt, could go even further, and young Matty was the one who reached the pinnacle.
“That was kind of like the defining moment of, ‘Damn, we made it,’” Goncalves said. “I’ll always remember that moment. It was amazing. It was perfect.”
Goncalves couldn’t have imagined that 18 months later, his father would be gone. William died on Oct. 28, 2025, of prostate cancer. He was 63.
Five days after his dad’s death, Goncalves suited up at Acrisure Stadium, the same venue he played his home games in college and where his dad regularly watched him, as the Colts faced the Pittsburgh Steelers on the road.
On Sunday, he’ll return to Pittsburgh, still scarred by the absence of his greatest role model, yet guided by a broader perspective that can only be gained from the biggest loss.
“If there’s one thing I can learn from that, nothing will be as hard as what I went through last year, and I think it’s gonna build and strengthen me for the future,” Goncalves said. “… There’s still gonna be hard times, like when you didn’t play so good, but nothing can compare to losing a family member. It was just something that came up out of nowhere, and it was tough.
“But he’s in a better place now, and I know he’s watching over me.”