[Former Baltimore Colts DT Art Donovan passed away.]

Baltimore network television station WBAL broadcasted the funeral live today. WBAL radio carried the funeral live.  

 

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravens/bal-hundreds-arrive-for-art-donovans-funeral-at-cathedral-of-mary-our-queen-20130809,0,6576834.story

[The Old Stomping Grounds]

it was to get a NFL team rather from expansion or to get a team to move to Indy.

I don't understand why you would build a stadium in 1983 when expansion was set by the NFL in 1995. A big difference is St Louis (after the Cardinals moved) and Baltimore after the Colts moved waited until the expansion in 1995 to try to get a team through expansion. There were four teams that applied were St. Louis, Baltimore, Charlotte (Carolina), and Jacksonville.  When St. Louis and Baltimore were denied teams they then tried to acquire existing teams. St. Louis and Baltimore were given no choice.  A see a significant difference in the process St. Louis and Baltimore followed in comparison to Indy.  

[The Old Stomping Grounds]

So the purpose of building the RCA dome in 1983 was to try to take a team from an exsting NFL city? 

Indy had made it know it was interested in a football team long before they knew they had a shot at the Colts.  It's the whole reason the RCA Dome was really built in the first place. At the time the league was looking into expanding but did not end up doing it till years later when the Jags and Panthers came into the league.  Indianapolis was interested in one but had all but been told the league would not give them one because Indianapolis was not large enough to support a team. 

 

I got this from a wonderful documentary that WFYI/Indy Star did about the history of sports in Indianapolis that aired last year around the Super Bowl.  For the first time they really told Indianapolis story with the move.  Highly recommended viewing if you get a chance.  It's call from Naptown to Super City.

[The Old Stomping Grounds]

You say Indy tried to get an expansion team? When did this happen?

You know what no it's not asking for it.  Wearing a visiting team jersey to another team stadium is NOT asking to be abused and does not make it right.  If I were to pick up a bottle of beer on the street and throw it at someone that's call assault.  Doing it in a stadium does not some how make it okay.  Particular when they are upset about something that happened when I was two years old and I wasn't even living in the city when it happened

 

Still if it were just a single experience I would just chalk it up to couple of drunks at a football game.  That happens every place.  However, I am far from the only Colts fan that has had this experience when going to Baltimore to watch a game.  Many people have shared stories of over the top abuse when going to a game in Baltimore for no other reason than choosing to support the Colts.  I am NOT saying all Baltimore fans do this.  However, there is a clear pattern of behavior here from many different people and that pattern of behavior is not okay. 

 

Further more I went to the Colts Titans game this year and seated next to me was a Titans fan with his young daughter and while we had some friendly back and fourth it was just that friendly we laughed and even shook hands after words as did others around him.  So no I don't subscribe to the theory that just because you choose to go to a road game you are some how asking for it. 

Think about what you just said.  I shouldn't believe what someone says to me in person...

 

Here's a thought maybe the Baltimore fans shouldn't over react to try to actively ruin an experience for another fan who is just there to watch their team.  If I was standing up and being a jerk okay then I would get it but I wasn't.  Also this does not happen in every stadium.  I have also been to a Colts Packers game in Green Bay and Colts Bengals game in Cincinnati.  My dad has also been a Colts Texans in Houston.  All three places I would have nothing but positive things to say about the fans who sat around us as would my dad who saw the Colts play Houston.  That Houston game was the game where the Texans just drilled us down there with Peyton by the way and the fans were jacked that day but were still nice to Colts fans at least where my dad sat.  Cheer for your team but there is no need to heckle other teams fans who are there for no reason other than to watch their team. 

 

Also the point here is that the city of Baltimore is some how the only victim in this.  If you look at the story of why the Colts left the city played a rolled in this as well.  Again, like I said before you need to look at this like when a free agent leaves a team for another city.  Odds are if the team he was playing for was treating him right most of the time he will not want to leave.  Had Baltimore built them a stadium they wanted or not tried to take Bob Irsay's property odds are they might very well still be in Baltimore. 

 

Also if the city of Baltimore wants to be mad then fine but be mad at Bob Irsay not the city of Indianapolis.  All Indianapolis did was try to get a football team the only way they could because the league was not going to give them an expansion team.  What were they supposed to do say no?  All the fans did was support the new they got.  Again this is the same logic that some tried to use to be mad at Andrew Luck because Peyton Manning was released.  Andrew Luck himself had no part in the decision he just did the best he could for the team that drafted him.  Indianapolis saw the Colts were available and were willing to support them.  They did not make the decision for the Colts to leave Baltimore.  Bob Irsay did.  Also I think most Indianapolis fans see Baltimore fans as being a bit hypercritical that they will bash the city of Indianapolis for pretty much doing EXACTLY what they did to get the Ravens.

 

Indianapolis fans mostly HATE this topic.  We don't go looking to bring it back up and it normally only comes up when we play the Ravens when the Baltimore fans tend to bring it back up.  Again, did others and myself probably over react to this thread.  As I have said before probably.  With that said though I think the reason they did was because they had a feeling where this thread was going based on past experiences of dealing with Ravens fans. 

 

Also I don't think people in Indianapolis hold a life long resentment towards the city of Baltimore over this.  Frankly I think vast majority don't care but like anyone who has pride in their city if they think it is being unfairly attacked they are going to defend it.  Personally outside of the Ravens game I have zero issue with the city of Baltimore.  I would like to go and visit again.  However lets not try to pretend that the city of Baltimore is just poor little victims in this who have never done anything.  Yes they were the victims when they lost their team and I think most people in Indianapolis would feel sorry for them for that.   However, when they start to open bash our home town and abuse our fans they stop being victims and it's the later that people in Indianapolis have a problem with. 

The city of LA has gone almost 20 years without a team.  You don't hear them hating the Rams or Raiders nearly as much as you do Baltimore complain about the Colts leaving and Baltimore HAS a new team while LA does not.  St. Louis went eight years between the Cardinals and Rams and don't hold anything near to this resentment towards the Cardinals.  Most of these cities that get a new team tend to embrace the new team not hate the one that left.  That's the point Baltimore would leave you believe they are the only major city to lose a team and some how that makes what they did different when they got the Ravens.  It's not it's no different than what Indianapolis did to get the Colts.  Here's the thing though, NEITHER city did anything wrong.  They both wanted a team and saw the ONLY way they would get one is for one to move there so they made themselves as attractable as they could and when one showed interest in them what were they going to do?  Say no?  Of course not. 

 

However the city of Baltimore can not have it both ways as they would like and act like what they did was okay while the city of Indianapolis is a monster because the Colts went there.  It's either okay to do or wrong to do.  It's not okay for one city to do but okay for another.  That's like if your house gets robbed thinking you have the right to go down the street and rob someone else's house to replace your stuff.  Now with that said what Indianapolis and Baltimore later did were not crimes so there were no wrongs here but that's the point just because someone feels wronged does not give them the right to turn around do it themselves and say well I was wronged so that makes it okay.  That mentality just doesn't fly with me and that's what the city of Baltimore tries to use when it comes to this. 

 

Also don't give me the whole because Browns left their colors and team name behind it some how makes it okay.  The city of Baltimore would still be crying that they had to go 12 years without football even if the Colts had done that and how Indianapolis robbed them of 12 years of football.  Also if you think the Browns there today are anywhere close to the Browns that would have been there had they never moved you are mistaken.  The Browns today are stuck in year in and year out rebuilding mood while the Ravens are one of the best teams in the league year in and year out, and most of the key players to this were brought in by the personal put in place before the Browns left Cleveland. 

 

You want to blame Bob Irsay for moving the team fine.  You want to blame the league for not giving them a new team sooner then fine.  You want to blame the government of Baltimore for not doing more to keep the team then fine.  However, don't blame the city of Indianapolis for supporting a team and don't do it when Baltimore city turned around and did the exact samething because I got news for you even if Indianapolis hadn't been around the Colts would have still left Baltimore so that tells me the issue goes beyond just blaming Indianapolis. 

[The Old Stomping Grounds]

As old Colts fans pass, there is a new generation of Ravens fans that have moved on. The Steelers are the rival. Not the Colts.  There is still and always will be resentment that the name, the colors, the records, did not stay in the city of Baltimore much like Cleveland. The area as you walk into Ravens Stadium is called Unitas square with a large statue of Johnny U. Fans rub Johnny U's foot for good luck before the game Their is a banner acknowledging the Baltimore Colts Hall of Famers. But by in large the Colts are viewed as any other NFL  team. 

 

[Don't we have the advantage against the ravens?]

ANother advantage is Luck vs Flacco. Joe Flacco is garbage. Just watch him stand in the pocket, absolutely zero pocket awareness whatsoever. he's going to get pounded by this defense.

 

Flacco is garbage? Is he elite like Manning,  Brady, Brees, Rogers? No he isn't. But he outplayed Brady in the AFC championship game and is one dropped pass away from being in the Super Bowl. He is the 12th ranked passer in the league. He is upper middle of the pack for quarterbacks. Not garbage. http://espn.go.com/nfl/statistics/player/_/stat/passing/sort/quarterbackRating/year/2012/seasontype/2