To see all of the blue and white jerseys emblazoned with the number 18 running around central Indiana on almost any given day of the week, an outsider might be led to believe that professional sports were born in Indianapolis at the hand of Peyton Manning when he arrived in 1998. With all of the recent machinations of Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay, after his team finished a dismal 2011 season with Manning on the sidelines, signs seem to be pointing to Manning’s exit from town. Against that backdrop, most national pundits, and even many Hoosiers, have begun to paint a picture of doom and gloom for the Colts in particular, and for the Indy sports landscape in general. I’m here to tell you, fellow Naptown lovers, that there was a strong sporting backbone here before Peyton ever laid eyes on Marvin Harrison, and we’re poised to continue that tradition after Manning rides off into the sunset, whenever that may be.
Now, don’t get me wrong. Of course , Indianapolis sports and the city itself have benefited enormously from the Manning years. Without Number 18, it’s very unlikely that there would have ever been any championship banners, a Lucas Oil Stadium or the Super Bowl extravaganza about to unfold in our fair city. The revitalized downtown would not be so, well, vital, and we might have even lost the Colts somewhere along the way. The Irsays certainly have shown their willingness to pick up roots before.
But Manning joined a franchise that, just two years earlier, had come within a bobbled Jim Harbaugh heave of reaching the Super Bowl on their own. Manning came to a city that was alive with Indiana Pacers fever and thrived on the real Hoosier sporting lifeblood, basketball. He descended on a sleepy little city that was just starting to wake up, but could pull itself out of bed and stand on the foundations of the Indianapolis Indians and Victory Field, and could ride on the HUGE shoulders of the Indianapolis 500 .
There are bound to be some lean years among the next few, at least in terms of Colts football. The team is a mess right now, and, without Manning, they have very little chance of winning much at all, except another high draft pick. This year’s choice figures to be Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, though, and he has a chance to be a very special player, maybe even a franchise builder on the order of Manning. At the same time, the Indiana Pacers are in the middle of a minor rebirth, and could be on the road to something major. The Indians are still here, and there is nothing in the world like the month of May in Indianapolis, when the (ladies and) gentlemen start their engines.
So, relish in what Peyton Manning has accomplished in Indianapolis. Exalt him as one of your sports heroes. Heck, you can even cheer for him if he goes to another team. Just don’t forget that most of professional sports are cyclical, and Indianapolis has enough variety and history to see us through the tough times. Even if that means doing it without Number 18.