How did you become a Colts fan?

[RockThatBlue]

Thought this might be an interesting thread.

 

I remember in I think it was 2000 or 2001 (I was only 10 or 11)  I turned the TV on and a Colts game was on and just got hooked to the NFL and the Colts. 

 

How about yall? What got you into them?

[2006Coltsbestever]

I was 13 and it was when the team moved here to Indy in 1984. I had watched Football since the late 70's and played PeeWee Football as a youngster  but never had a true favorite team until we got the Colts. Even though we sucked from 1984-1986 I still loved them and was just happy we got a team. When we got Dickerson in 1987 this city went bonkers and so did I! 1987 and 1995 both are 2 memorable seasons prior to Peyton. We won the AFC East in 1987 and in 1995 Harbaugh was pure magic!

[rockywoj]

1966, three years old ... Plopped in front of the black & white tv, NFL football is on and I choose to cheer for the helmets with the horseshoe.   The next week, the team with the horseshoes are playing again and this is the team I must again cheer for.   The name Johnny Unitas sticks in my mind.   That's my team, the Colts.  That's my favorite player, Johnny Unitas.  That's my favorite coach, Don Shula.  I gave myself to them when I was three ... and I became theirs for life!

[The Peytonator]

PFM

[Buck Showalter]

Dean Biasuci

[NorthernBlue]

I'm still a young Colts fan. I had family in Indy, and because of that I always associated with Indianapolis. But I never really became a hardcore fan until Luck got here. I liked Peyton and those guys, but it was hard to watch the Colts here in Canada, so I only paid attention in the playoffs. But when Peyton got hurt and there was this new guy coming in the draft named Luck, I immediately started paying more attention (funny that 2-14 was my first year where I paid attention all season). But it wasn't until week 5 in 2012 (vs Green Bay) that I truly got hooked. Down 21-3 against the best Quarterback in the league and our coach suffering from Leukemia, that comeback was legit movie script level. And that performance by Reggie Wayne coupled by the arrival of a Mister Andrew Luck makes that my favourite Colts game I've ever seen (More than the KC Comeback). 

 

I don't claim to be a 'better' or more 'loyal' fan than other people here, but after that game I can't realistically see myself cheering for a team other than Indy. There were some great wins I seen in the Peyton years (SB, fourth and two, AFC Championship), but there are certain games that just resonate with you and October 7th 2012 is a date I will always remember.

 

/Sentimental Off

[crazycolt1]

I played little league baseball and my favorite team were the Baltimore Orioles as my teams name was the Orioles. I played 3rd base and my favorite player was Brooks Robinson. 18 all star games and 16 golden gloves makes for a pretty good player.

I always watched football growing up because my parents were big time Bear fans and never missed a game but baseball was my #1 sport.

Then the Colts drafted this player with the nickname the Ruston Rifle from LSU.

Bert Jones then became my favorite football player and then football became my favorite sport because my little league days were running out. Playing baseball and watching baseball are entirely two different things.

Needless to say I was electrified when I found out it was the Colts who moved to Indy instead of Arizona.

The rest is history.

 

[2006Coltsbestever]

47 minutes ago, NorthernBlue said:

I'm still a young Colts fan. I had family in Indy, and because of that I always associated with Indianapolis. But I never really became a hardcore fan until Luck got here. I liked Peyton and those guys, but it was hard to watch the Colts here in Canada, so I only paid attention in the playoffs. But when Peyton got hurt and there was this new guy coming in the draft named Luck, I immediately started paying more attention (funny that 2-14 was my first year where I paid attention all season). But it wasn't until week 5 in 2012 (vs Green Bay) that I truly got hooked. Down 21-3 against the best Quarterback in the league and our coach suffering from Leukemia, that comeback was legit movie script level. And that performance by Reggie Wayne coupled by the arrival of a Mister Andrew Luck makes that my favourite Colts game I've ever seen (More than the KC Comeback). 

 

I don't claim to be a 'better' or more 'loyal' fan than other people here, but after that game I can't realistically see myself cheering for a team other than Indy. There were some great wins I seen in the Peyton years (SB, fourth and two, AFC Championship), but there are certain games that just resonate with you and October 7th 2012 is a date I will always remember.

 

/Sentimental Off

Great stuff! To this day 2012 still remains my 3rd favorite season ever for the Colts since being a fan in 1984. 2006 and 1995 are the only 2 that were better IMO. In 2012 nobody thought we would win more than 5 games and Andrew set the world on fire leading us to 11 wins and memorable comebacks like vs the Packers and at Detroit. I will never figure out why anyone would say Andrew isn't worth his contract and their are people that do which is asinine. Without him our fanbase would dwindle and the team would be irrelevant/stink - we would be 0-7 without him had Tolzien and whoever else we brought in had been playing. A lot of people are Colts fans just because of Andrew. As far as Greatest wins go that would probably be in my Top 5 = the Packers game.

#1 would be the win over the Patriots in the 2006 AFC Title Game, that was pretty much like when the RedSox finally beat the Yankees in 2004 to advance to the WS. It was the real SB getting by Tom Brady and Bill Belichick.

 

1B. - Beating the Bears in the 2006 SB, beating the Patriots in 2006 and this go together. By beating the Bears in SB41 that gave the city of Indianapolis their first Football World Championship. Thank you Peyton Manning and thanks to Bob Sanders too on Defense for being a 1 man wrecking crew!

 

#3 - Beating the Chiefs at KC being a double digit underdog in the Divisional Round in the 1995 Playoffs. Harbaugh magic advanced us to the AFC Title Game.

 

#4 - The 4th and 2 game vs the Patriots in 2009, put us 9-0 (pretty much sealed up HFA) and we came from behind to win 35-34. The look on Tom's face was priceless after the game.

 

#5 - Beating the Packers and Aaron Rodgers in 2012 as a huge underdog. That set the tone for the season and we avoided going 1-3 with that win.  Chuck Strong and the new era truly begin with that win. Reggie Wayne was remarkable in that game and so was Andrew Luck!

[SteelCityColt]

Jim Irsay has some incriminating pictures of me. 

[Gyworks]

It was February 2004. The Hungarian online sports news has published some photos on the recently played Super Bowl. Colorful uniforms, pretty cheerleaders, big show. That was the first season to be broadcasted in the Hungarian sports TV. By learning the rules of the game on the fly I was amazed by this guy in #18 wearing a horseshoe on his helmet how he was fooling defenses with his audibles. I fell in love with him and this team and felt sick on Sundays when their game was not on TV. When I noticed how much I hated Brady and the Pats for beating them I new that I became a lifelong Colts fan for good.

[Lawrence Owen]

1984.  (8 years old)

I <3 'd football, and had the choice of Bears, Browns or Cinci to choose from.

To me, When Irsay moved to Indiana, he moved so I had a team to root for that was my own.  Irsay may have faults, but because of what his dad did, his family always have my appreciation.

[TheRustonRifle#7]

I was born into it....my Father had me watching SuperBowl 3 at the tender age of 2+.  I was fortunate enough to actually watch the Colts win the Superbowl against the Cowboys and Bears with him....may he RIP.

[TheRustonRifle#7]

3 hours ago, SteelCityColt said:

Jim Irsay has some incriminating pictures of me. 

That was you?

 

[colts8718]

I have followed them from Baltimore used to go to many games in Baltimore and when they played any of the NY teams. Have been to a few games in Indy love the stadium and the people. I remember seeing Jim Irsay at 16 boarding the bus so Im old 

[coltsfeva]

  I was born in '55 and remember my Grandfather having the Colts on a black and white T.V. , sometime around 1960. (I live in Delaware, so most of the fan base is Eagles' fans).

  Went to Colts games in Baltimore, when they had Bert Jones, Roger Carr and on defense, the Sack Pack. That stadium ROCKED when they spelled out  C-O-L-T-S

  When they moved to Indy, my friends who were Colts fans, hated them, but I followed the "laundry".

  When I was dating my wife in 2002, she had an autographed picture of Bruce Laird (a Baltimore Colts' Safety). So, I thought this must be a sign and I asked her to marry me....lol!

 We've made some of our vacation trips around Colts' games (N.O., Miami, Tenn, Indy, Foxboro). 

  Pretty hard to beat the Colts' QB lineage:

Johnny U

Bert Jones

Jim Harbaugh

Peyton Manning

Andrew Luck

 

GO COLTS!!!!

 

[KelownaColtsFan]

When I was a kid my favorite player for the Saskatchewan Roughriders was a RB named Kenton Kieth. He tore up the CFL for a couple seasons before being recruited to the NFL. He joined the Colts in 2004 or 05 I think? Ive been a Colts fan ever since

[rockywoj]

For all you Colts fans, if you haven't yet seen the movie "Diner", it is MUST viewing!   My favorite movie.   I used to joke with my future wife about making her pass a football quiz.  Anyway, the Colts play a huge part in the backdrop of the movie and every Colts fan should see this fantastic flick.

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diner_(film)

http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2012/03/diner-201203

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/diner/

 

 

 

[TheRustonRifle#7]

14 minutes ago, rockywoj said:

For all you Colts fans, if you haven't yet seen the movie "Diner", it is MUST viewing!   My favorite movie.   I used to joke with my future wife about making her pass a football quiz.  Anyway, the Colts play a huge part in the backdrop of the movie and every Colts fan should see this fantastic flick.

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diner_(film)

http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2012/03/diner-201203

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/diner/

 

 

 

I concur!  I would give you a "like" but I seemingly spent them all?

 

[TigerColt]

3 hours ago, TheRustonRifle#7 said:

I was born into it....my Father had me watching SuperBowl 3 at the tender age of 2+.  I was fortunate enough to actually watch the Colts win the Superbowl against the Cowboys and Bears with him....may he RIP.

Life long fan that is tied to LSU, more specifically Bert Jones.  Born and raised in Baton Rouge I watched Bert Jones at LSU and when he was drafted by Baltimore I became a Colts fan.  Avid fan ever since.  

 

Joseph 

[Coltsman1788]

My grandfather introduced me to football in the mid to late 70's but I was too young to really know what was going on.  I would watch the Dolphins games with him so they were my first team.  After he passed, I decided to pick a team of my own.  I researched the existing franchises and chose the Colts since they were from Baltimore...my birth city.  I became a fan during the 1980 season at the age of eight.  My favorite player was Curtis Dickey.  I also got to see the tail end of Bert Jones' career.  I enjoyed the Baltimore Colts for 4 seasons despite the fact that they were not a good team during this time...I didn't care because they were mine.  When the Colts left Baltimore in 84 on the Mayflower vans I was surprised and crushed.  However, I decided to stick with the franchise since I didn't like the Redskins and Baltimore did not get another team right away.  By the time the Ravens arrived in 2000 or so, the Horse Shoe was already firmly imprinted on my heart.  Colts fan for life.

[TDewar1987]

I never really got into seriously watching football until Luck was drafted. I did however start watching it casually the year we won the Super Bowl. Me and my older brother went to our friends house every game that year and watched. I didn't really understand it much at the time but it was fun regardless. Luck was drafted while I was overseas and once I got home I just got hooked big time. Watched every game since then. My very first Colts game was during our 2-14 season against the Texans at home, where we actually won that game. I've been to see the Titans, Saints, Texans twice, Bengals wild card game, Chargers game and probably one more game this season at least. It's always a good time at Lucas Oil Stadium.

[braveheartcolt]

I scoured all 32 forums looking for the fans who complained most after a win.........ta da!!!

[ColtV]

Other family members were all fans of other teams(Browns, Bengals, Steelers) so it was either like one of those teams and change the balance of power in the house, or jump on the bandwagon of this playoff Colts team that just moved to Indy(that's the 87 playoffs, btw).

 

V

[Gabriel Alexander Morillo]

I emigrated from Argentina to Louisiana at the end of  the year 2001, turned on the tv and proceeded to watch the Indianapolis Colts get beat by like 40 to the Rams

 

Then around Christmas i saw a replay of Jim Mora's playoff rant and fell in love instantly with the team. + by then i had known who Manning was and liked his play. 

 

 

[csmopar]

March 28th, 1984

[colts8718]

5 hours ago, coltsfeva said:

  I was born in '55 and remember my Grandfather having the Colts on a black and white T.V. , sometime around 1960. (I live in Delaware, so most of the fan base is Eagles' fans).

  Went to Colts games in Baltimore, when they had Bert Jones, Roger Carr and on defense, the Sack Pack. That stadium ROCKED when they spelled out  C-O-L-T-S

  When they moved to Indy, my friends who were Colts fans, hated them, but I followed the "laundry".

  When I was dating my wife in 2002, she had an autographed picture of Bruce Laird (a Baltimore Colts' Safety). So, I thought this must be a sign and I asked her to marry me....lol!

 We've made some of our vacation trips around Colts' games (N.O., Miami, Tenn, Indy, Foxboro). 

  Pretty hard to beat the Colts' QB lineage:

Johnny U

Bert Jones

Jim Harbaugh

Peyton Manning

Andrew Luck

 

GO COLTS!!!!

 

Loved Bert Jones,Roger Carr and the SACK PACK  man if we had the SACK PACK now 

[ColtsFanMikeC]

In 1994, I was 8 years old and lived in New Jersey.  I was learning about the 'states', and my dad (diehard NYG fan) took me to my first Giants' game.  I was so mad at the time that the New York 'football' Giants played in New Jersey that I vowed I could never root for them again.

 

My favorite color was blue and I was a big fans of horses -- I picked the Colts based on their logo and color, and I never looked back.

[NewColtsFan]

10 hours ago, SteelCityColt said:

Jim Irsay has some incriminating pictures of me. 

 

Let's hope he doesn't show them to anyone else!       

[NewColtsFan]

 

I became a Colts fan when Indianapolis drafted Andrew Luck.

 

Been one ever since........   and I've really enjoyed it!      

 

[SteelCityColt]

30 minutes ago, NewColtsFan said:

 

I became a Colts fan when Indianapolis drafted Andrew Luck.

 

Been one ever since........   and I've really enjoyed it!      

 

 

Of all the things most alien to me as a overseas fan is the whole collegiate fandom. Because we in the UK don't have a very professionally organised "amateur" setup in our universities when it comes to sports we can't really relate. Even if we did I'm not a college man  

 

Its cool though how you follow players all the way through their careers. I'd like to get into the college game to get a heads up on prospects but it's hard to pick a college to root for. Closest I've got so far is Duke because I like the uniforms... 

[PrincetonTiger]

They took the Mayflower to Indy

 

and then 

 

they drafted Ken Dilger

[kcccolts]

My dad is involved in a missionary organisation that has its headquarters in the Indianapolis area. He travels from Scotland to America a couple of times a year, and after my son was born he started bringing him back some Colts memorabilia, hats, jersey etc so we started to look out for their results and watch them on sky sports,

This year we were able to get tickets for the Wembley game from one of my dad's contacts who is a season ticket holder.

Now we have seen them live our interest has increased to including following this forum on a sunday night while watching "red zone" for updates.

Also joining this forum give a chance to share comments questions etc.

Hopefully now a fan for life regardless of success or otherwise.

 

[IndyD4U]

I've been bleeding blue since 1986. I was 6 years old and somehow Jack Trudeau became my hero.  I remember the day I took down my Mike Singletary poster and put up a Colts poster. It was momentous. 

[SaturdayAllDay]

Being a Canadian,  I grew up watching the CFL, and was a direhard fan of the Saskatchewan roughriders. I was raised that CFL was the best football out there, not like (and im quoting my father on this one here) "that pansy I need an extra down to get 10 yds" league down south. 

That being said, when I got to be about 11 or 12, I was being sent up to the next age bracket for our city football league. our junior league was all teams based on the CFL,  but when we went up to the bantam league they all became NFL team names. I was drafted to the Chargers and my best friend was drafted to the Colts. Not knowing anything about these teams we decided to start learning about the NFL and what our teams were about. I watched a few Chargers games and was slowly warming up to them (especially LT). Soon an arguement started between me and my friend about which team was better, as he kept raving about this amazing Colts offense and how they couldn't be beat. After noticing our teams played each other in the coming weeks we decided to meet up and watch that game together.

I was used to watching Brees, Gates and LT tear it up on offense,  but seeing that Colts offense changed how I saw football. having a qb in tune with his offense is one thing, but Peyton just seemed to know what the defense was doing every play. He would walk up to the line, yell a few things, everyone would move around a bit and then the play would be executed perfectly. I was in awe, because every player seemed to be a star on that offense. It was a thriller of a game, ending with the Colts winning in OT. 

I would cling to the Chargers for a few yrs as a team I rooted for,  but from that game on, I was a Colts fan. 

[basketballsteve]

Grew up in the Bay area just south of S.F. and in 1966 my dad took me to a 49ers game   (in the 60's the Colts were in the costal division with SF and LA) and by chance they were playing the Unitas led Baltimore Colts...I've ben a die hard Colts fan since then. More then anything else it was the uniforms that first game that caught my eye but as I became a fan of the game it became the players and their stories than kept me a Colts fan. Back in the days of the costal division the Colts once beat the 49ers 13 straight times.

[ALucksNeckBeard]

Born and raised in the Hooiser state since 1987. I can't remember a time when I wasn't a Colts fan. Jim Harbaugh was my hero when I was in first grade. Had his poster on my wall that said "Comeback Kid". Growing up watching all those great teams through the years, Peyton breaking records, bringing Indy the cities first Superbowl, going from Manning to Luck. So many great memories. This franchise is so special to me and so ingrained into my soul, that most people think I'm crazy. 

[Oldschoolcolt19]

I was an 8 year old Navy Brat when I discovered football, the Colts beat the giants for the 1958 World Championship and I've followed them ever since

[alawai]

24 minutes ago, Oldschoolcolt19 said:

I was an 8 year old Navy Brat when I discovered football, the Colts beat the giants for the 1958 World Championship and I've followed them ever since

Same here but I wasn't a Navy brat just a brat!

[FinalAxel]

it was the year 2002 when I finally started watching this sport called Football (originally from Europe). With no ties to any city, and already not liking the San Diego Chargers; I live in SD, it was time to find a real team to root for. It must have mostly been because of the QB surgeon Manning that I came to liking the colts very much.. A smaller market team with one of the better fan bases, I made my choice and have never looked back. Each time they play the Chargers, I have gone to that game. Only once been to a home game in indy (opening year for the new stadium, sunday night game NE @ IND which we beat them 15-18)

Ever since, I have made it a tradition to go to one away game each year. See you in Green Bay in a week!

[MTC]

Peyton Manning