Back in 1972, Robert Irsay became owner of the Baltimore Colts through a swap of teams with Carroll Rosenbloom who acquired the Los Angeles Rams. In March 1984, Irsay culminated a tenuous relationship with the city of Baltimore and the state of Maryland by moving the Colts to Indianapolis in the middle of a cold winter night. The team's property was loaded onto more than a dozen moving vans provided by Mayflower Transit Company and driven to the welcoming city of Indianapolis.

Irsay not only took the team from Baltimore but he also took the statistics, trademarks, records, history and big chunks of the heart and soul from thousands of die-hard Colts fans. Robert Irsay, who earned his wealth in the heating, ventilation and air conditioning business (HVAC), died in 1997 and ownership of the Colts went to his son, Jim Irsay. Needless to say, the Irsay name is reviled by many old-timer Colts fans because, no matter how hard they try, they will always have a fondness for the kidnapped team that produced so many exciting memories.

On a personal note, Robert Irsay fired a couple of my close friends working in the HVAC field back in the 80s in a particularly cruel and thoughtless manner. So I too have a deep-seated dislike for the Irsay name. I'd be much happier if the Colts were owned by some other family.

All that said, I'm with the old-timer Colts fans who remember Johnny Unitas, Raymond Berry, Bubba Smith, et al. and I live in an AFC city (Cleveland) so I root for and support the Colts. But I don't support the ownership, just as the many heartbroken fans in Baltimore.

Consequently, I support the Colts but I'm totally opposed to the Irsay administration. And, it is not even presumptuous to think that the Chicago Bears also support the Colts as long as the ownership's goals and desires of winning are not realized.

Now, some may ask how can I support the Colts but not their mission, asserting that it's a contradiction. To this, there is but one retort. DON'T QUESTION MY LOYALTY!

Given all that, I predict that the Chicago Bears will defeat the universally-supported Indianapolis Colts, 33-32, in Super Bowl XLI.

Posted by: Mike Pechar at 01:18 PM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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