Now, I hate the Indianapolis Colts with an almost pathological fury. The Colts moved in the middle of the night back in 1984, so you'd think I'd be over it, but Trail is still a Brooklyn Dodgers fan and they moved in 1958, so give me 30 more years and maybe I'll be over it. There's some general articles about it here, here, and here. Even one by the enemy, which makes a pretty good point:
While Baltimore cannot be begrudged for its anger, that city must remember, the people who set the wheels in motion on that move are either no longer with us or no longer are relevant to the issue. The man that city came to hate, Bob Irsay, died in 1997. And the sins of the father should not be visited on the son, who in this case is Jim Irsay, a man who is so spiritually different from his old man, it's hard to believe they were related. Come Saturday, descendants of the Mayflower will return to their old home. And the men who played their small roles in shaping history, like everybody else in Baltimore and Indianapolis, they will kick back and watch. It will be a football game, sure, but it will be so much more.
And there are some things that still get any old Baltimore Colts fan mad*, the guy I hate is dead. Bob Irsay was a son of a bitch, and he's the guy we had a beef with, not the people of Indianapolis, who I really harbor no ill will towards. Bob Irsay was a bad guy. He drove his own father out of business. He was a drunk. He was a liar. He was an anti-Semite who was born Jewish. He was generally despised by just about any person who ever met him. Don't believe me? Here's some quotes from his friends and family, taken from a 1986 SI article lovingly transcribed by a guy with too much free time.
His mom: "He's a devil on earth, that one... He stole all our money and said goodbye. He don't care for me. I don't even see him for 35 years. My husband, Charles, sent him to college. I made his wedding. Five thousand dollars, it cost us. When my husband got sick and got the heart attack, he [Bob] took advantage. He was no good."
His brother: "I don't know how else to say this, but my brother tried to run my father out of business. Bob actually worked to try to destroy his own father. Oh, he's a real sweetheart, all right."
His wife: "Between his power and his drinking, he just became obnoxious."
The coach, on working for Irsay: "Those were the two most unpleasant years of my life and I really don't care to comment further on it."
Bert Jones, the QB: "He lied and he cheated and he was rude and he was crude and he was Bob Irsay... He doesn't have any morals. It's a sad state for the NFL to be associated with him, but beyond that I've removed him from my mind."
So its not just that Baltimoreans are paranoid and making things up. Everyone hated Irsay. And he moved the team in the middle of the night in what was described as a giant covert operation. So I still hold a grudge, but what can you do? Other than have the team we stole beat the snot out of the team stole from us.
*OK, here's the list of things that make us mad about the Colts to this day.
1. The Colts name, logo, uniform, and history belong in Baltimore. There is nothing worse than hearing that Peyton Manning just broke Johnny Unitas' team record for passing.
2. The Hall of Fame lists Colts players as Indianapolis/Baltimore Colts. Which means that Johnny Unitas is listed as an Indianapolis Colt. It makes me throw up in my mouth.
3. Paul Tagliabue telling Baltimore to save its money and build a museum instead. Revered throughout the league, Tagliabue probably couldn't walk the streets of Baltimore without a police escort.
4. The whole 12 years without a team, getting screwed by the league at every turn. The expansion to Jacksonville still gets me angry.
5. How the same jackass who told Baltimore to take a hike (Tagliabue) then got all pompous about how we stole the Browns. And then Baltimore was villified despite the fact we tried to play by the rules and got screwed at every turn by the league. Cleveland was guarranteed a new team within 48 hours. They don't know what its like to lose a team. And where was this same national outrage when the Colts left? Besides, we're not even until a Browns fan goes to Canton and sees a plaque which states, "Jim Brown -- Baltimore Ravens". Then you'll know what it's like to lose a team.
6. Anyone who tells us to get over it.
1 comment:
More sports history than is usual for a blog extremely inciteful. By that I mean I skimmed most of it.
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