Indianapolis Colts

The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. The team is part of the South Division of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The Colts have won five NFL Championships, including two Super Bowl titles, most recently in 2006 in Super Bowl XLI against the Chicago Bears.
The Colts relocated from Baltimore in 1984, and began their stay in Indianapolis winning 90 of 228 games through the 1997 season, including 5 playoff games. Since Jim Irsay assumed control of the franchise in 1998 after the death of his father Robert Irsay, the team has become the first in league history to win 12 games or more in five consecutive season.

Franchise history

In 1953, a Baltimore-based group led by Carroll Rosenbloom won the rights to a new Baltimore franchise. Rosenbloom was awarded the remains of the Dallas Texans. The Texans had a long and winding history; they started as the Boston Yanks in 1944 and merged with the Brooklyn Tigers (previously known as the Dayton Triangles, an original NFL team established in the 1910s) for the 1945 season before moving to New York as the Bulldogs in 1949. The team then became the Yanks in 1950, and many of the players from the New York Yankees of the All-America Football Conference were added to the team. The Yanks moved to Dallas after the 1951 season, but played their final two "home" games of the 1952 season at the Rubber Bowl in Akron, Ohio. However, the NFL considers the Texans and Colts to be separate teams, although many of those teams shared the same colors of blue and white.
The Colts were the first NFL team to have cheerleaders, and the old Colts' fan club and marching band (now under the name Baltimore's Marching Ravens) were adopted by the new franchise.
The 1958 team, led by coach Weeb Ewbank and quarterback Johnny Unitas defeated the New York Giants at Yankee Stadium 23-17 in the NFL championship game. The game, the first-ever utilizing the overtime rule, is generally considered to be among the greatest contests in professional football history.
The Colts repeated as NFL champions in 1959, defeating the Giants again, 31-16. In the early 1960s, the Colts continued as an elite NFL team although they lost the NFL championship game in 1964 to the Cleveland Browns, 27-0.
In 1968, after a 13-1 season, the Colts gained a measure of revenge against the Browns, defeating them 34-0 in the NFL championship game. The 13-1 regular season and the trouncing of the Browns led NFL-based media to call the Colts "the greatest pro football team of all time". The Colts went into Super Bowl III (the first in the series to officially be called the Super Bowl) against the American Football League's New York Jets as 17-point favorites, with NFL icons like Pro Bowlers Bobby Boyd (db), Mike Curtis (lb), John Mackey (te), Tom Matte (rb), Fred Miller (dl), Earl Morrall (qb), Willie Richardson (wr), and Bob Vogel (ol).
The result of the game was surprising to many in the sports media[citation needed] as Joe Namath and Matt Snell led the American Football League champion Jets to a World Championship over the NFL's Colts, 16-7. The Jets were coached by Weeb Ewbank, the coach of the Colts' first two NFL titles.
Prior to the 1970 season, Rosenbloom, Art Modell of the Browns, and Art Rooney of the Pittsburgh Steelers agreed to have their teams join the ten AFL teams in the AFC as part of the AFL-NFL merger. The 1970 Colts immediately went on a rampage, as new head coach Don McCafferty led the Colts to and 11-3 regular season record, winning the AFC East title. In the first round of the NFL Playoffs, they beat the Cincinnati Bengals 21-0; one week later in the AFC Championship, they beat the Oakland Raiders 27-17. Baltimore went on to win the first post-merger Super Bowl (Super Bowl V) defeating the NFC's Dallas Cowboys 16-13, on a Jim O'Brien field goal with 5 seconds left to play. In 1971, the Colts made it back to the playoffs and defeated the Cleveland Browns in the first round, but lost to the Miami Dolphins in the AFC Championship on January 2, 1972 21-0.
On July 13, 1972, Rosenbloom traded the Colts franchise to Robert Irsay for the Los Angeles Rams, but the players remained in their respective cities. The Colts made the playoffs four more times in the 1970s - a wild card in 1971 and three consecutive AFC East titles in 1975, through, and 1977. These consecutive championship teams featured 1976 NFL Most Valuable Player Bert Jones at quarterback and an outstanding defensive line, nicknamed the "Sack Pack". Following the mid-70s success, the team endured nine consecutive losing seasons beginning in 1978. In 1981, the defense was the main problem: The Colts allowed an NFL-record 533 points, set an all-time record for fewest sacks (13) and also set a modern record for fewest punt returns (12).[c The following year the offense collapsed: On November 28, 1982, the Colts' offense did not cross mid-field in an entire game against the Bills; this would not happen again in an NFL game until 2000. The Colts finished 0-8-1 in the strike-shortened 1982 season. The disastrous 1982 season earned the team the right to select Stanford's John Elway, but Elway refused to play for Baltimore, and using leverage as a draftee of the New York Yankees baseball club, forced a trade to Denver. Behind an improved defense the team would finish 7-9 in 1983, but it would be their last season in Baltimore.

Relocation to Indianapolis
By early 1984, after the Colts' lease on the 64,124 seat Memorial Stadium had expired, Irsay wanted the city of Baltimore to upgrade the stadium or build a new one. But with attendance dwindling and the team playing poorly, city officials were wary of such an investment and negotiations were slow and contentious. Relations between Irsay and the city of Baltimore deteriorated, and despite numerous public announcements that Irsay's ultimate desire was to remain in Baltimore, he nevertheless began discussions with several cities hungry for an NFL franchise, eventually narrowing the list of cities to two, Phoenix and Indianapolis. Under the administrations of mayor Richard Lugar and then William Hudnut, Indianapolis was making an ambitious effort to reinvent itself into a 'Great American City'. The Hoosier Dome (later renamed the RCA Dome) had been built specifically for and was ready to host an NFL expansion team.
Meanwhile in Baltimore, the situation worsened. Eventually, the Maryland legislature intervened and threatened to pass a law giving the city of Baltimore the right to seize ownership of the team by eminent domain. As a result, Irsay began serious negotiations with Indianapolis Mayor William Hudnut in order to move the team before the Maryland legislature could pass the bill. The city of Indianapolis was more than willing to receive the team and provided the Colts owner with a $12,500,000 loan, a $4,000,000 training complex, and the use of the brand new 57,980 seat Hoosier Dome.After agreeing to the deal, Mayflower Transit trucks were dispatched to the team's Maryland training complex at 2:00 AM on March 29, where workers loaded all of the team's belongings and the trucks left for Indianapolis by 3:00 AM.

Baltimore moves on
The move triggered a flurry of legal activity that ended when representatives of Baltimore and the Colts organization reached a settlement on March 1986 in which all lawsuits regarding the relocation were dismissed, and the Colts would endorse a new NFL team for Baltimore. Nonetheless, many of the prominent old-time Colts (many of whom had settled in the Baltimore area) were bitter and chose to cut all ties to the relocated Colts team. Most notable and vocal among them was Johnny Unitas, who recognized himself solely as a player for the Baltimore Colts until the day he died, with his estate defending that stand to this day. However, former Baltimore Colts DT Joe Ehrmann (1973-80), has remained close to the team. After football he became an ordained minister who speaks to several NFL teams a year. He is the co-founder of Baltimore's Ronald McDonald House and the founder of a Baltimore inner-city, community-based ministry called "The Door".
In a bit of irony, Baltimore did eventually land another NFL franchise in a manner similar to Indianapolis. Several years later on November 6, 1995, Cleveland Browns owner Art Modell announced his intention to move Cleveland's team to Baltimore. The decision also triggered a flurry of legal activity. Modell originally intended to take the Browns name with him to Baltimore. However, many Cleveland fans refused to give up the city's NFL franchise name. Finally, representatives of both cities and the NFL reached a settlement on February 9, 1996. It stipulated that the Browns' name, colors, and history of the franchise were to remain in Cleveland. Modell would be allowed to take his players and organization to Baltimore, but it would be technically regarded as an expansion team. The new Baltimore team was named the Ravens after a fan vote.
The Colts' final home game in Baltimore was played on December 18, 1983 against the then Houston Oilers. The Colts would not return to Baltimore until 1998. Ironically, in 2006, the new Baltimore team had a chance to stop the Indianapolis Colts on their way to the franchise's first Super Bowl appearance since moving. However, the Colts defeated the Baltimore Ravens 15-6 in the division playoff round on their way to winning Super Bowl XLI.

Early struggles in Indy
The newly minted Indianapolis Colts continued to struggle on the field, with 4-12, 5-11 and 3-13 records during the first three seasons. The latter, during the 1986 season, began 0-13, with the team in contention to be the second modern-day team to go winless for an entire season (the 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers went 0-14) when they dismissed Rod Dowhower and replaced him with former Patriots head coach Ron Meyer. The Colts responded by winning the final three games under his watch.
1987 saw the Colts make the playoffs for the first time in a decade, winning the AFC East with a 9-6 record bolstered by the mid-season arrival of Pro Bowl running back Eric Dickerson. The next few seasons saw Indianapolis wallow in mediocrity before collapsing to a 1-15 in 1991, that team scored the fewest points ever (143) of any NFL team since going to the standard 16-game schedule in 1978.
The Colts did not return to the playoffs until the 1995 season, with Jim Harbaugh at quarterback and Marshall Faulk at running back, clinching a wild card berth with a 9-7 record. They advanced to the AFC Championship Game before losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers at Three Rivers Stadium. Although they won nine games again the following year, and secured another wild card berth, a dismal 3-13 season soon followed in 1997, which earned them the first pick in the upcoming draft and marked a crucial turning point for the franchise.

The beginning of the Peyton Manning era
Jim Irsay began to shape the Colts one year after assuming control from his father by firing Coach Lindy Infante and hiring Bill Polian to run the organization. Polian in turn hired Jim E. Mora to coach the team and drafted University of Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Peyton Manning, the son of New Orleans Saints legend Archie Manning, with the first pick in the 1998 NFL Draft. After recording a 3-13 record in 1998, the team drafted Edgerrin James with the 4th pick in the draft. The Colts finished 13-3 in 1999, but were eliminated in the divisional round by the Tennessee Titans. The following year, they were defeated in overtime in a wild-card playoff game against the Miami Dolphins in Miami, when a potential 49-yard (45 m) game-winning field goal attempt by Mike Vanderjagt sailed to the right of the goalposts. James tore his ACL in the sixth game of the 2001 season, and while backup Dominic Rhodes proved a capable starter in becoming the first undrafted rookie to rush for over 1,000 yards (910 m), the loss of James and a defense that gave up the most points in a season of any NFL team since 1981 proved too much to overcome; the Colts would finish 6-10 in and missed the playoffs. Mora was fired after the season, reportedly due to a disagreement with general manager Bill Polian over defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, but more over an dispute with the media on his team was capable of making the playoffs that year, to which he replied:
“
Uh...Playoffs? Playoffs? Don't talk to me about playoffs. You kidding me? Playoffs?! I just hope we can win a game.
”
The firing led to the hiring of head coach Tony Dungy, the former head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who had led his former team to four playoff appearances in the previous six years. Dungy led the Colts to the playoffs in his first season with the Colts, but a blowout (41-0) playoff loss to the New York Jets ended the season.
In the 2003 NFL season, Manning was named co-Most Valuable Player with Tennessee Titans quarterback Steve McNair. The Colts won the AFC South division title over the Titans via the head to head tiebreaker (both teams finished with 12-4 records). The Colts defeated the Denver Broncos in the wild-card playoff (41-10), and advanced to play the Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional playoffs, winning 38-31. In the AFC Championship game they were defeated 24-14 by the eventual Super Bowl champion New England Patriots, with Manning throwing four interceptions in a game widely criticized for its minimal officiating (only seven penalties were called during the entire game, six of them were pre-snap fouls).

2005 season
Further information: 2005 Indianapolis Colts season
The Colts became the 4th team in league history to win their first 13 games, but the season ended with an opening playoff game loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Manning and Marvin Harrison broke Steve Young and Jerry Rice's NFL record for most touchdowns by a quarterback-receiver tandem, notching their 86th in a Monday Night home game against St. Louis Rams in week 6. Two weeks later Peyton Manning logged his first victory at New England against the Patriots, ending a six game New England win streak. After defeating Jacksonville in week 14 they became only the fourth team in NFL history to reach a record of 13-0 and clinched home field advantage throughout the playoffs. The dream of a perfect record for the Colts ended the next week however as the San Diego Chargers defeated the Colts 26-17.
In week 16, the Colts played without coach Tony Dungy following the suicide of his son James earlier in the week. With the team resting most of their key players, the Colts lost their second straight to the eventual NFC Champion Seattle Seahawks. Dungy returned to the sidelines for the last regular season game as the Colts beat the Arizona Cardinals 17-13 while resting most of the team's usual starters. The team's final record of 14-2 marked the best 16-game season in the franchise's history.
On January 15, 2006, the Colts were eliminated in the divisional round by the eventual Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers, 21-18. Trailing 21-10 late in the game, the Colts regained possession and put 8 points on the board to make it 21-18. After a Pittsburgh fumble on the goal line the Colts drove down the field, only to have Mike Vanderjagt miss a 46-yard (42 m) field goal attempt wide right.

2006 season
Main article: 2006 Indianapolis Colts season
After becoming the first team in NFL history to begin two consecutive seasons by winning nine games, the Colts proceeded to lose three of the next four, largely due to the league's worst run defense. However, they still captured their fourth consecutive AFC South title by defeating the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday Night Football in Week 15 of the season with, ironically, a strong showing from their defense. The Colts finished the season with a 12-4 record, giving them the number three seed in the playoffs. The record also marked their fifth consecutive season with ten victories or more. In week 13 against the Titans, the quarterback-wide receiver combination of Manning to Harrison became the all time leader in touchdowns in NFL History.
In the Colts' first-round playoff game, they defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 23-8, despite three Manning interceptions. The Colts defense dominated the Chiefs, holding them to 44 yards (40 m) on the ground (RB Larry Johnson had 32) and Chiefs' quarterback Trent Green to 2 yards (1.8 m) passing in the first half. The Chiefs did not earn a first down until 3:33 remained in the third quarter.
The Colts defeated the Baltimore Ravens 15-6 in the division playoff round, thanks to kicker Adam Vinatieri's five field goals and another impressive defensive showing. They played the New England Patriots at home in the AFC title game for the rights to the Super Bowl; it was the Colts' third conference championship game in the Indianapolis era. The game marked the first time that the AFC title game was played in a domed stadium. After trailing at one point 21-3, the Colts stormed back, defeating the arch-rival Patriots for the third consecutive time. With a final score of 38-34, the 18-point comeback was the largest ever in an NFL conference championship game, and tied the record for the fourth largest NFL postseason comeback.

Super Bowl XLI
The Colts defeated the Chicago Bears 29-17 on February 4, 2007 in Dolphin Stadium, after overcoming a rocky start that saw the Bears' Devin Hester return the opening kickoff 92 yards (84 m) for a touchdown and the Colts' Peyton Manning throw an early interception. Rain fell throughout the game, for the first time in Super Bowl history, significantly contributing to the six turnovers committed by both teams in the first half. Peyton Manning was awarded the the MVP after completing 25 of 38 passes for 247 yards (226 m) and a touchdown, caught by Reggie Wayne.
Colts' running backs Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai combined for 190 rushing yards and a touchdown, while kicker Adam Vinatieri converted 3 of his 4 field goal attempts. Defensively, safety Bob Sanders and cornerback Kelvin Hayden each intercepted Bears' quarterback Rex Grossman late in the game, with Hayden returning his for 56 yards (51 m) and a touchdown, essentially sealing the Colts' victory.
Indianapolis became the first "dome team" to win a Super Bowl in an outdoor stadium, the first to win in the rain, and the first to win after having the statistically worst rushing defense in the league during the regular season. Tony Dungy became only the third man to have won the Super Bowl as both a head coach {XLI} and a player {XIII} (along with Tom Flores {IV-player, XV and XVIII-coach} and Mike Ditka {VI-player, XX-coach}), as well as the first African-American Head Coach to win a Super Bowl. With the win the Colts became the only team to date to win a Super Bowl from the AFC South. Also the Colts have made it to the Super Bowl three times, all three in Miami.

2007 season
Main article: 2007 Indianapolis Colts season
The Colts ended the 2007 regular NFL season with a record of 13 wins and 3 losses, winning the AFC South title. They faced the San Diego Chargers at the RCA Dome on January 13th, 2008, after earning a bye for the first round of the 2007 playoffs. They lost to the Chargers 28-24.

Controversies
After receiving a complaint from New England Patriots president Jonathan Kraft about a suspicious sound in the RCA Dome during a game with the Patriots on November 4, 2007, NFL vice president of security Milt Ahlerich determined the sound was a glitch in the television broadcast. "'CBS has informed us that the unusual audio moment heard by fans during the Patriots-Colts telecast was the result of tape feedback in the CBS production truck and was isolated to the CBS broadcast,' NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said. 'It was in no way related to any sound within the stadium and could not be heard in the stadium.'" This accusation has been leveled before, as executives from other teams in the league have previously complained of excessive noise in the RCA Dome -- which they believed was noise other than the natural noise caused by the fans.
During the final game of the 2007 season, Indianapolis played the Tennessee Titans, who were playing for a spot in the playoffs; the Colts were resting most of their starters as they had already clinched a position in the post-season. There was speculation the Colts and the Titans had colluded (a major violation of NFL policy)as to game strategy -- presumably to ensure the Titans (and deny the Cleveland Browns) a post-season berth. Titans quarterback Kerry Collins claimed in a radio interview they were not aggressive in the final minutes of the game because the team "knew" the Colts were not going to challenge them. "'Apparently there was some communication between Jeff (Fisher) and Tony (Dungy),' Collins said on WFAN."
Fisher responded "Let me just say, I knew he wasn't going to use it. Tony and I were on the competition committee for a long time.' The Titans coach also said the Colts would have gotten the ball back with 25 seconds left but down nine because Tennessee would have kicked another field goal." Fisher then said "It didn't make any sense. They gave it their best shot."
The article continues with possible implications: "If true, the Cleveland Browns could possibly file a grievance alleging collusion." To date, there has been no known news story of the Browns filing a grievance with the NFL of collusion between the Colts and the Titans.

Lucas Oil Stadium
Main article: Lucas Oil Stadium
After 24 years of playing at the RCA Dome, the Colts will begin play in Lucas Oil Stadium starting in the fall of 2008. In December 2004, the City of Indianapolis and Jim Irsay agreed to a new stadium deal that will benefit both the city and the team at an estimated cost of $675 million. In a deal estimated at $122 million, Lucas Oil Products won the naming rights to the stadium for 20 years.
It will be a seven-level stadium with a retractable roof seating 63,000 for football. It can be reconfigured to seat 70,000 or more for NCAA basketball and football and concerts. It will cover 1,800,000 square feet (167,000 m²). The stadium features a retractable roof allowing the Colts to play home games outdoors for the first time since arriving in Indianapolis. Using FieldTurf the playing surface will be roughly 25ft below ground level. The new stadium will be bigger and better than the RCA Dome in many ways. Housing 58 permanent concession stands, 90 portable concession stands, 13 escalators, 11 passenger elevators, 800 restrooms, high definition scoreboards and replay monitors and 142 luxury suites. Other than being the home of the Colts, the stadium will host games in both the Men's and Women's NCAA Basketball Tournaments and will serve as the back up host for all NCAA Final Four Tournaments. It will also numerous events and conventions. The stadium will make Indianapolis eligible to bid to host a Super Bowl and has a potential economic impact estimated at $286,000,000.

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