Evidently it's easy to win the Super Bowl. At least that's what Colts owner Jim Irsay thinks. Irsay decided to take the days leading up to the most highly-anticipated regular season NFL game in quite some time and stir the pot by taking an unnecessary cheap shot at his former quarterback. Irsay said how disappointed he was that the Colts "only" won the Super Bowl once during Peyton's time with the team, as if that was somehow his fault (the game-sealing pick-six against the Saints in Super Bowl XLIV notwithstanding). I guess being in the playoffs regularly and winning 12 games every year wasn't enough.
Irsay tried to backtrack after he was roundly criticized for making those comments, but that did little to help his case. He came off as petty and ungrateful with comments that weren't just unnecessary. They were wrong and, frankly, downright mean. You "only" won one Super Bowl ring? Poor baby. You know what, the Philadelphia Eagles would gladly change places with you. So would the Buffalo Bills, who haven't even made the playoffs since 1999, Peyton's second year with the Colts. By saying what he said, Irsay spoiled what otherwise would've most likely been a pretty happy reunion. Instead of lamenting what might have been, he should be thanking Peyton Manning for how much he meant to the Indianapolis Colts organization over the course of his 13 years with the team.
The Indianapolis Colts were irrelevant. That's the only reason they were able to get Peyton Manning in the first place (and to think, some people wanted them to take Ryan Leaf with the No. 1 pick in the 1998 Draft). In his second season, they went from 3-13 to a 13-3 division champion. And the winning didn't stop. They were among the NFL's dominant teams for more than a decade, and the Colts-Patriots rivalry was must-see TV. (And if they don't have the unfortunate timing of running into Brady and that Patriots dynasty, the Colts do win one or two more Super Bowls.) Who was it that turned the franchise around? Turned them from a laughingstock into a powerhouse?
Without Peyton Manning, Eli never wins a Super Bowl in his brother's stadium. Because there is no Lucas Oil Stadium. Instead, the Los Angeles Colts are playing in Farmers Field or one of those other cushy new stadiums that's been proposed. Without Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts jerseys don't go flying off the shelves all over the country. Without Peyton Manning, free agents don't want to play in Indianapolis. Without Peyton Manning, Indianapolis remains a basketball town. Without Peyton Manning, the Colts aren't just irrelevant. They never become relevant in the first place.
How important was Peyton Manning to that team? The 2011 season is all the evidence you need. After never missing a start over his first 13 years in the league, Peyton was forced to miss the entire season after neck surgery. And the Colts fell apart without him. Suddenly the team that was regularly winning 10-plus games a year couldn't win at all. The Colts only won two games and ended up with the No. 1 pick, which just happened to be yet another opportunity to draft a franchise quarterback.
So, if you think about it, without Peyton Manning, there's no Andrew Luck. At least not in Indianapolis. If Manning plays at all in 2011, you know the Colts manage to win a few more games, Luck gets taken No. 1 by somebody else, and Peyton gets to end his career the way he wanted to. As a Colt. But instead, Jim Irsay decided to cut the greatest player in franchise history and start over with Andrew Luck.
I get why he did what he did two summers ago. Was it disappointing to see Peyton leave Indianapolis? Yes. Was it the "right" decision? That's up for debate. From a business perspective, it made sense. Irsay didn't want to draft Luck and have him sit on the bench biding his time behind Peyton, all the while paying the future Hall of Famer a very large sum of money that could be spent filling some glaring needs. He wasn't even sure if Peyton Manning was still Peyton Manning (BTW, he is). But it was sad to see the face of the franchise discarded like yesterday's trash. Peyton Manning deserved a better ending in Indianapolis. Colts fans deserved a chance to say goodbye properly.
As it turns out, Irsay was just as right about drafting Luck as he was about drafting Manning. Long-term, it looks like everything is going to work out fine for the Colts. Just like it's worked out fine for Peyton. He's very much the Peyton Manning of old and the main reason why the Broncos are the favorites to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl. Wouldn't that be a kick, Peyton getting another ring before Irsay?
This Sunday is Peyton's long-awaited reunion with the Indianapolis fans who fell in love with their football team because of him. He'll receive an outpouring of love from an appreciative stadium. It'll be quite a contrast to Brett Favre's return to Lambeau with the Vikings. Peyton Manning will get his much-deserved tribute, and some tears will probably be shed.
It all had the makings of a beautiful moment. Until Jim Irsay spoiled it. Maybe he took all of his team's success for granted. Either way, Peyton Manning deserved to be shown the same class he's displayed throughout his career. Instead Jim Irsay has decided to act as if everything he's done for the franchise meant nothing. Try to take it back all you want, Jim. You still said what you said, and it was still interpreted exactly the way you meant it. And it was completely uncalled for.
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