INDIANAPOLIS – It was an evening to celebrate, and contrast.
The band reunited Monday on stage at Old National Centre to reprise the greatest hit of the Colts’ Indy era: Super Bowl XLI.
The marquee flashed:
Night of Champions
2006 Indianapolis Colts
In sheer numbers, it put the Fab Four to shame: Peyton Manning, Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, Dwight Freeney, Dallas Clark, Jeff Saturday, Tony Dungy and others who formed a spectacular supporting cast.
“There’s no doubt it was a special run,’’ Manning said. “It was a special group of guys to play with.
“We had a great leader with Tony and Jim [Irsay, team owner] and Bill [Polian, president] gave us great support.’’
They authored a historic 10-year run of excellence highlighted by the Colts’ 29-17 win over the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XLI on a rainy evening Feb. 4, 2007, in south Florida. Prince’s hypnotic “Purple Rain’’ remains one of the NFL’s most acclaimed halftime moments.
“What gets more and more clear is why it happened,’’ Clark said. “It’s the dudes we had on that team.
“Whenever we get together for a Hall of Fame or Ring of Honor event – when we kind of get the band back together – they’re the same cats they were back when we played.’’
There are moments those cats jokingly consider picking up the instruments again.
“Mentally we could go out there and do a two-minute drill even though physically we probably wouldn’t be very successful,’’ Clark said with a laugh.
“But it’s that mentality we had collectively. It was pretty unique.’’
As were the 115 wins from 2000-09, at the time an NFL record for any decade, and seven consecutive seasons with at least 12 wins, another record. And the six division titles, nine playoff berths, two AFC Championships and one Lombardi Trophy.
“It was the golden era for the Indianapolis Colts,’’ said Freeney.
The signature moment in South Florida produced a Lombardi trophy for Irsay’s franchise and Indy, and continues to resonate 18 years later. Manning’s Omaha Production event Monday evening sold out without much difficulty.
That era sent six individuals to Canton, Ohio as inductees to the Pro Football Hall of Fame: Manning, Harrison, Freeney, Dungy, Polian and Edgerrin James. James had left the Colts as a free agent prior to the ’06 Super Bowl, but Irsay recognized his importance to the journey by presenting him a diamond-studded championship ring.
That group also is part of the Ring of Honor at Lucas Oil Stadium, along with Wayne, Clark, Saturday, Robert Mathis and Tarik Glenn.
To describe that collection of individuals – Bob Sanders, Adam Vinatieri, Ryan Diem, Joe Addai, David Thornton, Rob Morris, Antoine Bethea, Dominic Rhodes, Marlin Jackson, Kelvin Hayden, Cato June, Raheem Brock, Hunter Smith, Gary Brackett, and on and on – as “special’’ seems a disserve to all who were part of the experience.
Almost to a man, they were similarly wired.
“We had a way of doing things and it was obviously driven by Peyton’s extreme (pursuit of) perfection,’’ Clark said. “And then we had the coaches. It was Tony and Howard Mudd and Tom Moore and John Teerlinck. There was no such thing as going through the motions in practice. It was ‘Bring your best every single day’ whether it was May in OTAs or August in Terre Haute.’’
Clark laughed and gave his best impersonation of Moore, the mastermind behind the Manning-led offense.
“I can’t tell you how many times Tom Moore said, ‘You can do your jacking around during lunch,’’’ he said. “We just didn’t have time for it.
“We were all designed that way. We liked that culture. We needed that culture.’’
But while Monday was an occasion to gather and celebrate an indelible moment in the Colts’ long history, it also offered a stunning contrast to the current state of the franchise.
It shined klieg light on how far removed the team is from that championship moment and a decade of excellence. Over the last 15 seasons – post-2009 – the Colts are 123-120-1, 14th in the league. Since their last AFC South division title in 2014, they’re 78-85-1, 17th-best.
“It’s tough,’’ Clark said. “Man, you just want them to do well.’’
But they aren’t.
In fact, the Colts are mired in a mediocrity that’s straining the patience of the fan base. They’ve failed to make the playoffs in four consecutive seasons for the first time since a seven-year drought from 1988-94.
Here’s some numbing perspective: None of the players featured Monday evening missed the playoffs a total of four times in his career.
That includes Manning (three in 17 seasons, excluding 2011 when he was out with neck issues), Freeney (three in 16), Wayne (two in 14), Saturday (two in 14), Harrison (three in 13) and Clark (three in 11).
“The building is full of great people,’’ Clark said. “You’re like, ‘Man, why isn’t it working?’ It is tough. You know how much they want it and how much they work for it, but such is life. It doesn’t always happen.
“I know they’re struggling and fighting like hell to make it happen, to figure out the missing piece. They’re going through another offseason of taking the car apart and putting it back together and see what they’ve got.’’
The most glaring difference between then and now is obvious. The Colts excelled by following Manning’s lead and with Polian surrounding him with difference-making talent at virtually every position.
“Look at history and the stats,’’ Clark said. “You need a quarterback. There’s no arguing that. You need a leader.
“Every successful team has had that.’’
The Colts had it with Manning, and after they transitioned to Andrew Luck in 2012. But since Luck’s sudden retirement prior to the start of the 2019 season, the franchise has failed to stabilize its most consequential position.
The jury remains out on Anthony Richardson. The fourth overall selection in the 2023 draft has dealt with injuries, accuracy and the necessary approach to his obligations during his first two seasons.
Manning was quick to caution anyone comparing his Colts and their extended success to subsequent teams. There’s no question the Super Bowl champions set the bar extremely – ridiculously? – high.
“I think you’ve got to be careful trying to chase someone else’s identity,’’ Manning said. “You have to be who you are. That would be my advice to the 2025 Colts: Create your own identity.
“Certainly there’s a tradition here and you want to play in places where there is a tradition and history. When I got to Tennessee, I loved to hear about the history of it.
“I hope when players get here they do study the history of the players and coaches that were part of the Indianapolis Colts. At the same time, go out and be who you are and try to create your own identity.’’
You can follow Mike Chappell on Twitter at @mchappell51.