Indianapolis Colts

 

The Indianapolis Colts franchise was first established in 1953, and started playing for the National Football League. They joined, what is now the current NFL, in 1970 during the AFL-NFL merger. The Colts have a long and varied history. The team is headquartered at the Indianapolis Colts Football Training Center in Indianapolis, Indiana and play in the AFC South. They started playing their home games at their new and improved Lucas Oil Stadium in 2008, after construction finally finished. Their team colors, as is their logo, are pretty simple; the colors being Speed Blue and White and the logo is a horse shoe. Going along with their name, their mascon Blue is a large horse; which is actually blue in color and wears the Colts jersey.

 

Colts Brief Team History

The Indianapolis Colts did not start out in Indianapolis, but instead they were founded in Baltimore in 1953 and were called the Baltimore Colts. With the NFL expanding, they decided to move the team to Indianapolis in 1984, where they changed their city name, but everything else remained the same. During their time in Baltimore they achieved many things, such as winning three NFL Championships, as well as winning Super Bowl V in 1970. After the move, the Colts began to see much better improvement.

During their time in Indianapolis, the Colts have managed to appear in fourteen playoffs, along with two conference championships and to top it all off, they also won a Super Bowl championship. The team remained mediocre despite their efforts until one truly impressive quarterback came to the Colts, Peyton Manning. He was drafted to the Colts in 1998 and played with them until 2011, and during his time with the Colts, they appeared in 9 consecutive playoffs, which is tied for the record, and also won the 2006 Super Bowl against the Chicago Bears.

 

Notable Colts Figures

With the Colts, there are notable players and coaches that made the team great and managed to make it into a NFL worthy team.

 

Past Colts Figures

 

Robert Irsay was the man that bought, or more like traded for, the Colts in 1972. It was a big decision and has impacted the future of the team; seeing as how Irsay was the man in charge of moving the Colts from Baltimore to Indianapolis. He has managed to improve the team and franchise to the point of great success.

 

Tony Dungy was and is the most celebrated head coach the Colts have ever had, even with his short time being the head coach; from 2002 until 2008. During his short career with the Colts, he managed to get an excellent winning record of 92 – 33, along with taking the Colts and winning the 2006 Super Bowl. It was a sad day when he retired and many fans still miss his coaching strategies.

 

Peyton Manning was one man that changed the course of history for the Colts, since they were not a high ranking team when Manning arrived. His leadership and amazing talent led the team through some very tough times. During his time with the Colts he won a Super Bowl, became MVP that same year, as well as received many different records, such as fastest to ever reach 50,000 yards. He is still an all-time leader for the Indianapolis Colts in various categories.

 

Present Colts Figures

 

Reggie Wayne has been a wide receiver for the Colts since 2001, and started to prove his worth and show his true talents on the field since 2004. He played a crucial role during the 2006 Super Bowl win, and proven to be a very efficient and effective receiver. We hope to continue to watch him catch the ball with style for seasons to come.

 

Jerrel Freeman is an Inside Line Backer for the Colts and is a very effective one at that. Freeman was drafted in 2012, and he has not wasted any time emulating and even becoming the great players that preceded him. Watching him play and defend reminds me of a younger Dwight Freeney during his prime years knocking heads and tackling anyone that he could get his hands on; especially the quarterbacks.

 

Adam Vinatieri is the Colts Kicker, and has been since he was traded in 2006. He is one of the most accurate kickers in the League and has helped the Colts during its crucial times; being a clutch kicker is supremely important when games are always so cut-throat and closely matched. He is continuing to impress and get the Colts points with his field goals.

 

Present Team Personnel

The Colts owner is Jim Irsay, son of the late Robert Irsay that had initially purchased the team in 1972. He is a very eccentric owner, but cares deeply for the legacy that his father left him; he travels with the team and is at all of the games. The current head coach for the Colts is Chuck Pagano, who succeeded former head coach Jim Caldwell. Pagano has only just recently taken up being head coach in 2012, so we still have to see how well the team and his coaching mix. He does have the experience, we just have to see if the Colts start performing at the height they were at during the Dungy era.