Peyton Manning: how he changed Indianapolis and the Colts
There was a telling moment Tuesday night, just as the news broke that Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts would be parting ways. Shortly afterward, a bevy of reporters descended upon an SUV carrying Manning and Colts owner Jim Irsay, who had just stepped off a flight coming from south Florida together.
鈥淗ey guys, we鈥檙e not really going to say anything now,鈥� a grave-looking Irsay said as he rolled down the window. Manning, sitting next to him, smiled and waved.
鈥淲e鈥檒l talk tomorrow,鈥� he drawled kindly, displaying the gawky charisma that has made him the one of the most marketable sports personalities in America. 鈥淲e鈥檙e good. We鈥檙e gonna do it the right way tomorrow.鈥澛�
They were saying basically the same thing, but Manning鈥檚 鈥渘o comment鈥� was worlds friendlier than Irsay鈥檚. If you didn鈥檛 understand English, you might think he was inviting the reporters to hang out and watch TV.
The incident illustrated just how much Irsay and the Colts are giving up in cutting Manning, beyond a quarterback and a player so instrumental in making decisions on offense that he may as well have been a coach. They鈥檙e giving up the face of an entire franchise, a public-relations genius, and most prominent citizen of the city of Indianapolis. It will be difficult for any subsequent player to become the face of the franchise in quite the way that Manning has.
To put it another way, 鈥淭he Colts cutting Peyton feels like the North Pole kicking out Santa,鈥� as US tennis star Andy Roddick tweeted Wednesday.
It鈥檚 easy to forget what the Indianapolis Colts looked like before the Peyton Manning era. Jim Irsay鈥檚 team, inherited from his father, Robert, used to be best known for betraying the city of Baltimore. In 1984, Robert Irsay moved the Baltimore Colts to Indianapolis in the middle of the night, leaving local Baltimore fans devastated.
In the 14 years between that controversial move and the first overall selection of Manning in the 1998 NFL draft, the Colts weren鈥檛 much to write home about. The team only had five winning seasons, none of them with over 10 victories. Their best finish in that span was a loss to the Steelers in the 1995 AFC Championship. The year before Manning came to town, the Colts went 3-13.
They went 3-13 his rookie year, too, but 1999 brought a complete reversal, at 13-3. The Colts dominated during Manning鈥檚 tenure, making regular trips to the playoffs and consistently threatening to win Super Bowls (appearing twice and winning once, in 2007).
Manning also did wonders for the city of Indianapolis itself. After he raised millions for the local St. Vincent鈥檚 Children鈥檚 hospital, it was renamed the 鈥淧eyton Manning Children鈥檚 Hospital鈥� in 2007. The most marketable player in the NFL, Manning was instrumental in bringing the brand new Lucas Oil Stadium to the city, and the 2012 Super Bowl bid that resulted.
"There is no Super Bowl held here without Peyton," Indiana state museum curator Dale Ogden told the ESPN.com sub-site Grantland in February "There is no Lucas Oil Stadium without Peyton. Without Peyton, the Colts would probably be in L.A. right now."
The Colts, too, recognize what Manning has meant to the organization and the city. At his joint press conference with his former quarterback on Wednesday, a choked up Irsay announced that Manning鈥檚 jersey number, 18, would be retired.
The questions that followed from the local press were mostly about Peyton, with very few directed at Irsay and the Colts: reporters asked if he was throwing well, if he would still be a presence in Indianapolis, and if he was at peace with the decision. Already, attention was tracking Manning, shifting away from Indianapolis.
But gracious to the end, Manning put Indianapolis first.聽
鈥淚鈥檓 not leaving Indianapolis,鈥� Manning stressed, 鈥渁nd I鈥檒l always be a Colt.鈥�
