move on after the colts move
25 years ago? after the fans
of baltimore and the colts team
put the national football league
on the map..

the way the irsay family manipulated
and ruined a once great fanchise,
no most of us over 45 will not move
on....

we will remember the proud
history of the "baltimore" colts,
not some repica that calls
themselves the colts in indianapolis.

You date yourself Mike. For a lot of people that still hurts. For younger people it means nothing.

Worst. Poem. Ever.

You might be ignorant of the deep emotions we tied into our Colts. they were part of us, and we were part of them. we were Colt "fans." As in "fanatics." The team was slowly sxcised bit by bit over a decade of decadent ownership. The final cut may have been small, but the mourning period was 10 or 12 long , painful years.

They should have left the records and horseshoes in Baltimore but we were lucky to get rid of Irsay. Art Modell is a much better man and owner.

Five words:

Hell NO we won't forget!

Its like getting over the death of your parent Mike. Especially HOW it happened. We thankfully have a team now, but there will forever be bad blood between the fans of Baltimore towards Indianapolis until all who ever saw and supported the Baltimore Colts pass on. And to suggest otherwise is just plain naivete' on your part. How many Baltimore Colts players have embraced the Indy franchise? And how many embrace the Ravens?THAT is your answer. As long as they continue to despise the Indianapolis franchise, so will the fans.

Mike, I don't understand the point of your analysis. You're too astute to not already know the answer to your own question. If you're over a certain age, say perhaps 45 or so, you will never forget what Irsay did to your football life, your childhood memories, your sense of civic pride, etc. If you're too young to remember, then of course, you've "moved on" as you've suggested. Your article seems to suggest that there's something wrong with a person who still carries the pain of the Colts moving. I love the Ravens, but I still mourn the Colts. That doesn't mean that I'm nuts. It just means that life is complex and our feelings from our younger days matter just about as much as our present day ideas and thoughts. Quite honestly, I mourn the loss of the Orioles of Frank, and Brooks, and Jim, and I still miss the Baltimore Bullets. That's the beauty of sports. Why do certain members of the media make it their business to lecture folks like me about the need to move on? Playing Indy will always be a big deal for me. It's not just another game on the schedule. I love the Ravens, but I also will always love the Baltimore Colts. Call me crazy.

He was a bonifide crook the way he duped the city & fans. I remember many great games as a season ticket holder. And that Rozelle claimed the city gets the name "COLTS" back when another franchise comes. I now live in Tennessee and root for the Titans!!
The Baltimore Colts don't exist and can't be replaced by the Indy Colts or the Ravens.

It's like losing a loved one. You don't "get over it". We, as a city, may have moved on. We certainly love our Ravens. But let history show that it is as much a travesty, an injustice, today as it was 25 years ago. I'm not sure it's something we'll "get over it" unless we forget about it. And that's something that should never happen.

I remember the Colts leaving well enough. I also remember the the Ravens coming to town and playing the Super Bowl four years later.

It's just a shame they didn't do what the Cleveland Browns, Houston Oilers, Washington Senators, and other franchises did when they moved: change names and uniforms. After all these years, and my memories of Bert Jones, Glen Doughty, Rick Volk, Mike Curtis, Don McCauley, and Johnny U, it still seems surreal to see another city's team wearing our jerseys and helmets.

But what can you do? Go Ravens!

Moved on? Moved On? I don't know what the average age is in Baltimore, but the only way that most people in Baltimore have moved on is if the average age is 40, or younger. For those of us that grew up as Colt fans, the pain lingers. Move on is right up there with: "Debt doesn't matter", and "Now is the time to focus on solutions not assigning blame." Please!

Move on you say? Old colt fans will NEVER forgive Irsay for stealing the Colts. I am a Ravens fan, but still love the Baltimore Colts. Go ask the people of Brooklyn NY if they have moved on from Walter O'Malley ripping their hearts out and moving the Dodgers to LA. If you dont understand by now, you never will.

Number "19" FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!!

Moved on perhaps but NOT forgotten…

NO!!!! I have not gotten over it. What is even worse than Irsay ( the drunken bum) sneaking out in the middle of the night ... is ... he took the Colts' name with him. And, what is even worse than that is the Indiana charlatans have laid claim to the legacy of the great HOF Colts from the past. Forgive? Never!!!! Forget? Absolutely not!!!!

the move still hurts but it is compounded by the treatment we as a city received from the NFL. did they make indy come up with a new name so the tradition of the Colts could be honored here? it seems so funny to me how the Colts moving meant nothing to the NFL but the browns leaving cleveland meant so much. This Baltimore Colt fans just wants to say "thanks for nothing NFL. "

I have moved on, but I will never forget the way the colts were pulled out from us. The one thing that happened was that Irsays move of the colts, freed up my Sundays. I havent watched a pro game since.

First thing I came in here to say is that I (and the rest of my family) are not over it, and in fact we will never be fans of any team the way we were fans of the Colts. The Colts were a part of our daily lives, and their leaving hurt more than anything like that should have. We root for the Ravens, we are happy when they win, sad when they lose, but never with any real emotional connection. So while I will not be regaling anyone with stories of the Colts glory days (unless I am asked to), I am not over it, and probably will never be over it. And just for the record, I am 35, so it isn't just the 45 and over crowd that gets hit by this.

Then Dave had to come along and make me spit coffee on my keyboard. Well played, Dave. Well played, indeed.

"R" is Robert "The Antichrist" Irsay

They moved on my birthday and yes, I remember The Colts Corral.

No mercy for the Irsays, it still hurts.

I'll never get over it; I'll never forget; I'll never forgive the NFL. The only time I watch a game is when the Redskins are on so that I can root for whoever they are playing.

I was born after the Colts moved, and I've read up on them, checked out the memorbelia and all that, and as much as I love the Ravens, I really wish that the legacy of the Colts remained unbroken in Baltimore.

They won the first major championship the city had seen, the helped Baltimore in all the right ways. The NFL needs to make it right and give us our records back.

We'll never forget the night that Irsay took our Colts out of town. Dispicable. WE remain Oriole fans, but holdour noses up to what is that Indianoplis team.

Go Ravens! Colts are just another team. Move on.

Go Ravens! Colts are just another team. Move on.

nope, too young to remember, but still hate them. I lost an entire generation of football because of that drunk. It remains part of NFL lore and makes COlts Ravens games always exciting. If you want us to get over it, retire the horseshoe. Its not yours ne way indy. We made that nickname. let it die.

I don't care anymore that Irsey moved the team, but I do hope Big Bob is in Hell for not giving us the Colt name back.

Mike, Still love the Colts. When I see the great Peyton Manning wearing those horse shoes, I momentarily forget that it's not our team anymore. It's time to get over this hatred. Bob Irsay is gone and his son is not so bad. The Baltimore fans weren't very supportive of the Colts during their last few years here, and are partly to blame. Besides, we got the Ravens the same way Indiana got the Colts. Teams are property and owners can do what they want.

In 5 years it's likely that the Ravens will have their first HOF'er when Ogden becomes eligible. At that time the HOF should alter the display setup so that the Baltimore Colt HOF displays are right next to the Baltimore Ravens HOF display... and make sure the Indianapolis HOF displays are way across the room somewhere :-)

As long as Unitas is associated with Indianapolis in the HOF, NONE OF US SHOULD FORGIVE.

God, let's just get over this please. Yes, they moved. The old drunk is dead. Can we please focus on the real rivalries w/ the Steelers, Browns and Bengals? The Indy Colts mean nothing.

Move on? I will never forget watching my father come to tears when I was 11 as the trucks pulled out during the night in the snow. My father would tell me stories growing up about John, and Lenny, Raymond, Artie, and Gino. He would tell me about standing in line in 59 for over 18 hours for tickets to the Championship game. All he ever wanted was the history to say here in Baltimore. The colors, the records, but it never did. When John died, my father and I were able to get into the funeral. We stood in that line for almost 2 hours, but I knew in my heart I had to get him there. He cried like he was a family member. Football was different then. The passion, the game, the relationship with the communities and fans. Most of the players had businesses in Maryland, and lived in your community. It's different now. My father and I have PSL's for the Ravens, and up until the day he passed 5 years ago, he loved his Ravens. My son was born 5 months after my father passed away, his middle name is Unitas not only for John, but for Dad. Am I over it, yeah, but will I forget, never.

We'll never forget.

We'll never move on.

Okay it has been a long time since the Colts moved from Bmore, but the thing that still hurts is they were the Baltimore Colts Our Colts.

My childhood consisted of Memorial Stadium n Johnny U. w Lenny Moore and my Idol John Mackey those Colt pictures were on my parents basement ceiling are etched in my memory. Bert Jones and Lydell Mitchell and the Dfense of the Colts of my teenage years, were Baltimore's Colts

Peyton Manning is a Colt, but not a Baltimore Colt and the connection is not fair or the same for me. So, yes it does have a sting, when they connect our Colts of yester year to the Colts from Indy. Those are imposters and should not be connected to OUR Colts.

Those were OUR Colts and the Colts that I will always remember. So yea it does STING, and yes I did date myself.

The ravens don't have the browns records so the ravens should have the colts records.

The Baltimore Colts were way to much a part of me and my childhood for me to ever "get over them". I would hope any true, passionate fan of a moved team would say the same. You never get over a loved one who is now gone especially if they were taken from you back the actions of a despicable drunk. I am now a Baltimore Ravens fan through and through and despise the Indianapolis Colts but I will also always miss the Baltimore Colts and those beautifully simple blue and white uniforms.

It won't be time to move on until the NFL moves all the Baltimore Colts memorabilia, Hall of Fame and otherwise, into a Baltimore kiosk and not keep associating Unitas, Parker, Marchetti, Berry and others with Indianapolis. It's a ridiculous scenario.

I will never, ever forget. Why should I it's Baltimore history. I am trying to teach my 13 year old the correct way not the way of Indy. Your right though Unitas and all the greats should be in the Baltimore Ravens Hall of fame catorgory, Indy had nothing to do with it.

26 was just 2 when the colts left town........I HATE THE COLTS AND I HATE IRSAY. that will not go away and I will pass that on to my children. Keep the Hatred alive!!!!

I attended so many Baltimore Colts games all the way from childhood right up to the last Baltimore Colts season in 1983. I took great pleasure at the home opener in 1983, booing John Elway for snubbing my town. I'm over Elway - he wasn't wrong in forcing a trade. I'm not over Irsay being a jerk and making the trade necessary. I'm absolutely not over the way he snuck out of town. If you want a primer on how to mishandle a team and a city, study the interaction of the Irsay family and Mayor William Donald Schaefer. A tragic battle of egos.

Mike. NEVER!!! The Colts were Baltimore. They lived next store to us and worked here in the off season. They were our childhood hero's. Always accessable to the fans who loved them. I still stop by my picture of the 1954 Colts in my den, thinking back at the great memories I have of the Colts.

Do I dwell on it? no. Am I over it? no, I still wish them Ill-will, some of that has lessened with the death of Irsay but I still dislike His son for not trading the name back for minor considerations vs. a 25 million pricetag he put on it when the browns were moving here. Go Ravens

what people forget is how Irsay was treated by the state legislature and by local officials, Mayor Schaefer exceepting. He wanted the field lowered so people in the box seats could actually SEE the game and got laughed at. He wanted the kick-off moved to 1 o'clock instead of two and people thumbed their noses at him. We chanted "IRSAY SUCKS" at him. He said Curtis Dickey was'nt worth a raise (and he was right!) but many took us the cause for Dickey and opposed Irsay. WE LOST THE COLTS---WE DID---WE MADE IT EASY FOR INDY TO TAKE OUR TEAM...

I'm 45 and when that moving van left, that was the end of the NFL for me.

The only thing that tops that is the shear hippocracy of the people of Baltimore. When the Colts left, our hearts were broken. However, when the CLEVELAND BROWNS arrived in town, all seems to be magically forgotten...the underlying theme being don't steal our team, but we'll be more than happy to steal yours. Franchise free agency ruined what was once a game and turned it into a bold faced money grab with a facade of althletics attached.

As far as I'm concerned, the NFL and all the mindless sheep who follow & subsidize it's arrogance and contempt for the fans deserve one another.

I've moved on. But I'll never forget. In addition, the NFL missed a golden opportunity in 1996 to right Irsay's wrong. It should have been Indy that had to pick a new name for their team. Comments?

It's sad the way the whole thing panned out, but I do feel for you fans from Baltimore. I am an Indianapolis Colts fan. I live in Indianapolis, and during the first few years of the Indianapolis Colts, I was a resident of Severn, MD. I saw the pain, and resentment, and I would have felt the same way.

I know that many of you have ill will towards the Indianapolis Colts, and that is understandable. However, I hope that you don't still feel that same resentment towards the residents of Indianapolis. We merely jumped at an opportunity to have what we have been dying for, for years; a professional football team.

As to leaving the horseshoes in Baltimore; I don't think that would have been a bad idea. In fact, it would have given more of an identity to the present day Colts, and kept the history, the legends, and mystique of the Colts in Baltimore.

I hope, at some point, the fans between both cities can have good-natured rivalries, without hate directed at each other. As a fan, I don't like the Ravens. As a person, I am glad to see that, not only Baltimore got a professional team again, but that they got one that has put them back on the map as Champs, in such a short period.

If the Colts do not win another game in the NFL it will not hurt my feelings. You see the NFL just keeps rubbing it in that we lost the Colts so how can we forget? Our Ravens are the only one that had to change names in a move to a new city. However I am glad we are not the Baltimore Browns.

I thought the Colt organization had a chance to ?mend things" two years ago.

BUT, the records, and the actual trophies won by the BALTIMORE Colts were altered and now say Indianapolis Colts.

THAT'S JUST WRONG!

If the Colt organization would simply acknowledge that three world championships were won in Baltimore, I would probably get over it.

But not before,

I was in high school when the Irsays left town, and no, I haven't gotten over it. :-)

Perhaps I would have gotten over it had the Irsays done the right thing and changed their team name and uniforms to fit Indianapolis, leaving the Colts name to Baltimore. I accept that NFL franchises sometimes move, but they don't have to take their horseshoes with them.

In contrast, Art Modell and the Browns did it the right way when they moved to Baltimore and became the Ravens. They let Cleveland keep the Browns name, records, history, etc., and Cleveland got a new Browns team just a few years later and picked up where they left off. It worked out for everyone.

Not so the cowardly Irsays. Sorry, I can't forget or forgive that.

And I wouldn't like prima donna Peyton Manning much even if he played for a different team, so that doesn't exactly endear me to the franchise either, nor their (literally) pushy head guy Bill Polian, nor their incessant whining for rules changes to further assist the passing offense any and every time they lose a playoff game.

I won't be getting over my dislike of the Irsays any time in the next few decades. But it just makes me enjoy it all the more when the Ravens play them. I was hoarse for a week after attending the playoff matchup in 2006. Hopefully this weekend we win. Go Ravens!

Never! Even after I die. There will always be a sore spot in my soul.

I still can't watch the horse shoes

With the Ravens here, I don't find myself rooting against the Irsays any longer. Little things like even Payton Manning wanting to wear the hi-tops as a Unitas tribute helped with the process of moving on.

That said...
Never forget until the horsehoes, colors and history are returned. The old Colts in the indy wing of the HOF is a continous tragedy!

The fact that the Ravens Roosts (formed from the old Baltimore Colt Corrals) compete with the new Ravens Nests for fan loyalty should tell you all you need to know about the continued popularity of the Baltimore Colts today in Charm city 25 years after the despicable move to Indy. Also isn't the former Baltimore Colts marching band still in existence after all these years?

About the name and colors issue: If Baltimore had gotten the same deal in 84 that Cleveland got in 96 (keep name, colors & records with the promise of an expansion team), Colt fans would have been dancing in the streets, deliriously happy to be rid of the Irsays. Which of course is the EXACT same deal that the NFL gave Cleveland... yet Browns fans whined their butts off and are still bitter.

So don't try to spread the lie that Baltimore did to Cleveland, the same thing that was done to them by Indy.

Another illustration: I'd like to make a friendly bet with a Browns fan. I'll go to stubhub (or wherever) and try to score a FUTURE ticket to a Cleveland Browns home game....and you (Browns fan) try to score a ticket to a future BALTIMORE Colts HOME game. First one to successfully score tickets is the... loser.

Over it? Give me back my youth with a football team and we'll call it even... until then, nope.

But I did like seeing Taglia-who handing Moddell the trophy for Baltimore. "Give Baltimore the Ball" didn't work, but "Give Baltimore the Trophy" sure did. Thanks Ray. Thanks JO.

I'm sure there's a host of people who mourned the day the 1890s Orioles moved to New York to become the Yankees. Those people are dead now of course. So too, will the generation who grew up and lived and died with the Colts. But until they do, they'll be a bunch of 40+ men in this area who will never let it go, for good or ill. Meanwhile, there's a whole generation of youngins who want to hit like Ray-Ray. Times change, and so this to, will pass, even it means by the grave.

The Colts are in my face daily. I grew up in Baltimore but now live in Indiana. Even worse, I work at the college where the Colts hold their training camp. (It was suggested that I turn down the job based on this alone.) I had to face Colts fans the day after that awful playoff loss two years ago. BUT COME ON! We have the Ravens. We have a Super Bowl trophy. The Colts have been in Indy now almost as long as they were in Baltimore. It is time to move on.(And would you understand someone from Brooklyn who still hated the Dodgers?)

I save my hatred now the Steelers. Now could somebody FedEx me a crab cake?

Part of the attachment to the Colts is due the early nature of NFL football players being part of the community. The worked real jobs and were very much like us. The "OLD" Colts were kind of blue collar working guys like our city. As much as we love the Ravens, that basic attachment cant exist when the players are so distant.

To heal the wounds, the records, and trophies of the Baltimore Colts must be returned to Baltimore. Why is Jim Irsay still holding them ???

We need to tie your butt to a chair and make you watch "Diner" all night!

Hey, does the Colts Super Bowl win in Baltimore count as a win for the Indy Colts or as a win for the Baltimore-Colt-Ravens?

Forget, NEVER! Bob Irsay was dishonest with the city and the fans. Those folks in Indiana can call them Colts, but they're really symbols of a dishonest person who valued greed and money over loyalty, honesty and love of his fellow man. The Colts are Baltimore's forever.

NO WAY. STILL THINKS IT'S INSULTING WHEN AN INDY PLAYER SETS A TEAM RECORD AND THEY BRING UP A BALTIMORE COLTS PLAYER. BALTIMORE COLTS RECORDS ARE ONLY FOR BALTIMORE COLTS. BRING BACK THE UNIFORMS AND TEAM COLORS AND BRING BACK THE NAME COLTS. THE IRSAYS ARE
G A R B A G E

I will never get over it.I hope his death was as agonizing as what he did to an entire city,and I hope he is where he belongs.I have no ill will toward the current team I even rooted them on when they won but Irsay will forever live in infamy and shame.His son was OK in college but now it looks like he did the same hostage negotiations on the new stadium so I am sure Indy fans are cusing him now too.

So long as I live and breathe I will not "get over" it. I will despise all Irsays, living and dead. And, as the responses to your provocative column suggest, I am not alone. Yes, all of us will pass away just as fans of the National League Orioles passed away. But unitl then, in the morning and at the setting of the sun, I will remember John, and Raymond, and Lenny while I seethe with resentment against a drunk and his family who stole my childhood as the Al Davis's and Pete Rozelles' of the NFL
watched with approval!

Well look at all of these e-mails that are on this site. It Is a age thing If you are 35 and under the Colts mean nothing too you. If you are over 45 you are bitter the Ravens fans who are young are the Ravens fans base overall the old Colts fans are just that. The younger fans do not care about the Colts and there move.

I am very content with the notion that Bob Irsay is eternally mired in the pits of Hell where he belongs.

How about this for a blog question? What percent of football fans would love to hear the old BALTIMORE Colt fight song at Raven games? Would it detract from the Raven fan's loyalty? Would it , perhaps, create a stronger link between the beloved Colts and Ravens. Could it , perhaps, make the Ravens a "beloved" Baltimore institution? I say yes, yes, and yes!!!!!

Oops. I meant "No" Yes" and "Yes" on my last communication. Sorry.

I would feel a whole lot better if the league had done right by Baltimore and left the colors and records in place like the Browns and given us the Jacksonville expansion team, so we didn't have to take the Browns franchise. Always felt bad about that.

NO!!!

I was only 9 when the Colts left, but I will never forgive the Irsay family for what stole from my childhood. From 1980 to 1983, I went to every game (except for the last one, it was my great grandmothers 85th birthday) with my father, mother, brother, grandfather, uncles, and cousins. We had 18 tickets in a row. Those Sunday's were some of the best memories of my childhood. I learned to love from football from grandfather. I still love the game. I'm a huge Ravens fan, a season ticket holder, and once a year I go with some childhood friends to a Ravens road game. This year we're going to Indianapolis. However, the one thought I know I will have this weekend is, I'm watching the team my grandfather loved so much (as did I). After the Colts left, I'm not sure he watched much football on TV, until the Ravens came to town. But it wasn't the same for him. Although we offered to take him to almost every Ravens game before he passed away 2000, he would never go. The passion for one of things he loved the most, football (specifically Colts football) was gone, stolen away on the cold March night. So, in conclusion, I will never forgive the Irsay family for stealing those Sunday's away from me and breaking my grandfather's heart.

Gee Mike - is this the equivalent of sweeps week on TV? This topic is an easy way to generate traffic to show to advertisers. I'll bite... Short answer is -- no, we are not over it and we will never be over it. It's like losing a loved one or seeing your ex walking down the street with another guy. You learn to deal with it, but there's always a hole in your heart. Or since this is a sports blog, a better metaphor would be to say that there's always some scar tissue there to remind you of what once was. True, I don't hate the Colts anymore. Manning and Dungy and others are stand-up guys that the city would surely embrace if they were here. But there's just something about those uniforms. And the memories they evoke. There was plenty of bad stuff going down in Bmore in the 50s, 60s, and 70s, but from a sports perspective, the Colts and O's made life much better back then. Most of us who remember those times enjoy the Ravens, but we loved the Colts. My wife and several close friends are from out of town. I've told them the stories. Funny thing is, now they hate the Colts more than I do!

The Colts may play in Indianapolis, but they still belong to me and all those who grew up with the Colts as I did. Every time I see the horseshoe logo and the UCLA stripes and the Colt blue and white I am transported back to my glorious past. Permit me to say that Peyton Manning is Johnny U. reborn. Who knows I might even move to Indy to really root for them. I've spent time there and it is a pleasant place. Anyway no matter where they play they still are MY COLTS!!! GO COLTS!! GO RAVENS!!

Colts fan forever