The curse of the Super Bowl host city continues…
No NFL team during the Super Bowl era has ever hosted and also participated in the big game. In fact, many of the host city’s team records have been terrible. No team hosting the Super Bowl has even made the playoffs since the inception of the NFL’s current divisional and playoff format.
After an abysmal 2-14 season, Indianapolis Colts fans have had very little to cheer about as they head into their opportunity to host Super Bowl XLVI. The bad became worse as the AFC side of this year’s title game began to take shape. Either the New England Patriots or the Baltimore Ravens will represent the AFC in Super Bowl XLVI, on the Colts’ home turf, Lucas Oil Stadium. Both teams have faced the Colts multiple times in the playoffs, and either team would relish the opportunity to raise the Lombardi trophy in the house that Peyton Manning helped build.
Indianapolis has been looking forward to this Super Bowl bid ever since Lucas Oil Stadium was opened in 2008. They lost their first attempt to Jerry Jones, who was awarded the rights to host Super Bowl XLV in Arlington, Texas at the new Cowboys Stadium. Little did Colts fans know that they would also lose their hall of fame quarterback this season, and be forced to welcome one of their two biggest rivals to the Super Bowl in the Hoosier state.
The battles between New England and Indianapolis over the last decade have been legendary. Both teams have met at least once every year since 2003. Since 2001, these two teams have accounted for six Super Bowl appearances, four Super Bowl titles, and six NFL MVP awards. Their last playoff meeting was in 2007, where the Colts edged out the Patriots 38-34 in the AFC Championship game. The Colts also defeated the Baltimore Ravens 15-6 in the divisional round of the 2006-07 playoffs, on their way to a victory in Super Bowl XLI.
The roots of the rivalry between the Colts and Ravens go back nearly 30 years, when the Colts were Baltimore’s NFL team, and the Ravens were the Cleveland Browns. In a storyline suited for a soap opera, Colts ownership decided to move the team from Baltimore to Indianapolis in March of 1984. Baltimore fans had been understandably bitter ever since, even after the Browns were moved from Cleveland and became the Baltimore Ravens.
No matter which team wins the AFC Championship, it will be a hard pill to swallow for Indianapolis fans. Still, there just might be a positive light for Colts nation on the NFC side of Super Bowl XLVI. Both the New York Giants and the San Fransisco 49ers have ties to Indianapolis, which means that each and every Colts fan could be rooting for either NFC team to take the Super Bowl title away from either the Pats or the Ravens.
If the Giants win the NFC, then at least there would still be a Manning in the Super Bowl. One of the most replayed images of Super Bowl XLII was Peyton Manning in a box suite, celebrating as his brother upset the undefeated Patriots 17-14. If Eli could pull off a similar win at this year’s big game, it would definitely be a moral victory for Colts fans everywhere.
Jim Harbaugh, rookie head coach of the 49ers, was the quarterback of the Indianapolis Colts from 1994-1997. He helped the Colts reach the AFC Championship during the 1995-96 playoffs, and was one Hail Mary pass away from winning the game. That season, Harbaugh was also voted comeback player of the year, and was runner-up in MVP votes. Earning the nickname “Captain Comeback,†Harbaugh was by far the most successful Indianapolis signal caller up until that point and time. He was inducted into the Colts Ring of Honor in 2005.
So, for the Indianapolis faithful, there is a silver lining amongst the dark clouds that will roll into town with the eventual AFC Champions. The Patriots or the Ravens will have to contest with either the 49ers or the Giants, and will have every Colts fan in the country pulling for the NFC in this year’s Super Bowl.
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