Of course that's a rumour and not each of them is always true, but most have some truth to it that started it in the first place. And that one's been around since back in that day. I don't say they didn't write it, but I'm pretty sure they weren't keen on doing it and it merely was a compromise because there was no other "big ballad" that could've easily been released. It also feels kind of disjointed from the other ballds that the band did at the time, such as Postcards From The Wasteland, Joey, Open all Night or You Had Me From Hello. Jon was much more in that "Have A Littel Faith In Me"-kind of ballad mood at that time.
And at which other point did the band completely ignore their current single while on tour?
There has never been a full band performance and I seriously doubt that, hadn't it been for a drunk Richie in TV Total, it would have ever been played in 2003.