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User:Pacholeknbnj/Curse of Bob Irsay

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Curse of Bob Irsay?

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With their elimination from the 2005 playoffs, following such a strong regular season, superstitious sports fans might begin to wonder if a curse is on the Colt franchise, stemming from team owner Bob Irsay's 1984 move of the team from Baltimore to Indianapolis.

In order to consider a team "cursed," it is not enough for them to have not won a title, or to have not won one for a long time. Strange occurrences, hurting the team, need to have happened that seem to defy rational explanation.

The case for a Curse of Bob Irsay:

  • 1984 season: The Colts fall from 7-9 in their last season in Baltimore to 4-12 in their first season in Indianapolis.
  • 1987-88 season: The Colts win the AFC East, their first playoff berth and Division title in ten years, but lose in the playoffs to the Cleveland Browns -- ironically, the team that ends up replacing them in Baltimore.
  • 1991 season: The Colts finish 1-15, becoming only the second team to do so since the 16-game schedule went into effect in 1978.
  • 1992 season: With their horrible finish the year before, and a preceding trade, the Colts had the top two picks in the NFL Draft. They chose defensive end Steve Emtman, who injured one knee midway through that season and the other knee in the first game of the next season, and never recovered enough to have a productive NFL career; and linebacker Quentin Coryatt, who also didn't pan out.
  • 1993 season: After going a repsectable 9-7 the preceding season, the Colts fall to 4-12.
  • 1995-96 season: The Maryland Stadium Authority, previously responsible for building Oriole Park at Camden Yards, gives Browns owner Art Modell a better deal than was ever offered to Irsay. Modell brings his franchise to Baltimore and renames them the Ravens.
  • 1995-96 season: The Colts advance to the AFC Championship Game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and lose on the last play of the game, when Jim Harbaugh's pass into the end zone appears to be caught by Aaron Bailey, but was in fact trapped on the ground.
  • 1996-97 season: The Ravens are warmly embraced by Maryland fans (at least, those not close to Washington, D.C. and thus having always been Washington Redskins fans), and the franchise embraces Baltimore's football past, inviting legendary quarterback Johnny Unitas to deliver the game ball for the Ravens' first game while wearing his Number 19 Colt jersey -- and the Ravens win the game, against the Oakland Raiders, 19-16, invoking Johnny U's uniform number again. A statue of Unitas was erected outside the Ravens' M&T Bank Stadium following his death.
  • 1996-97 season: The Colts met the Steelers again, and lost. There was nothing odd about this loss, but it did extend the Colts' frustration.
  • 1999-2000 season: The Colts reach the playoffs in Peyton Manning's second season, but lose to another moved team, the Tennessee Titans, 19-16 -- there's Unitas' number again.
  • 2000-01 season: The Colts lose in the playoffs to the Miami Dolphins, on a missed field goal in the last minute by Mike Vanderjagt, by percentage of field goals made the most accurate kicker in NFL history.
  • 2000-01 season: The Ravens win Super Bowl XXXV, in only their fifth season of play. The 2005-06 season was the Colts' 22nd in Indianapolis.
  • 2002-03 season: The Colts reach the playoffs but are pummeled by the New York Jets, 41-0, one of the worst postseason drubbings in NFL history.
  • 2003-04 season: Manning leads the Colts to playoff victories for the first time, but they lose the AFC Championship Game to the New England Patriots in Foxboro.
  • 2004-05 season: Despite Payton Manning throwing for an NFL record 49 touchdowns, the Colts again lose the AFC Championship Game to the Patriots in Foxboro.
  • 2005-06 season: Despite starting the year 13-0, the Colts lost three of their last four games, including a home playoff game. The season also saw the death of James Dungy, the head coach's son, which may have deflated the players and taken their minds off the goal of winning a Super Bowl. Their playoff loss to the Steelers included a quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, making a touchdown-saving, game-saving tackle on the return of a fumble by running back Jerome Bettis; and, as in 2000-01, a missed last-minute field goal by Vanderjagt (though it was from 46 yards out, not an easy kick, even indoors), who had been perfect on the season to that point.

The case against a Curse of Bob Irsay:

  • 1971-83: Despite four playoff berths, including three straight AFC East titles from 1975 to 1977, the Colts didn't reach the Super Bowl in their last 13 seasons in Baltimore, either. If a curse on the Colt franchise exists, perhaps the true source is former owner Carroll Rosenbloom, who traded franchises with Irsay, and whose Rams did not reach the Super Bowl again, despite some strong teams, until after his death.
  • Peyton Manning. Despite being one of the most prolific passers in the history of both collegiate and professional football, he has underachieved in big games. His alma mater, the University of Tennessee, did not win a National Championship with him, but won it the first year after he graduated. It also took until his senior year for the Volunteers to reach the Southeastern Conference Championship Game, which they won. In college, Florida was Manning's "Patriots."
  • Indiana sports in general. Despite the success of Indiana University basketball and Notre Dame football, professional sports in the Hoosier State have been lackluster all-around.
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