Raymond Berry to deliver Superbowl Trophy in Indy.

[RavensRock]

Who cares. We have the playoff bound Ravens and the Colts are 2-13. How many Superbowls has Indy won? Same as the Ravens...

[lovefootball]

Maybe Berry will sneak out of Indiannapolis the night before with the trophy!

[Mista T]

Screw him! Asshole should have his number 82 removed from our Ring of Honor for this act of treason!

[Beau Petard]

Huge BALTIMORE Colts fan here. Many posters have heard me blather on about the subject of my old team, the Indy franchise, that cochon Irsay the Elder, etc., so forgive me for opening my yap.

My first reaction is, what's going on with this? But if you stop to think a bit, it sorta makes sense, and I can't get too angry at Berry. Consider:

> First, SOMEONE has to present the trophy to the SB winner. Check out this link, which gives a little framework info on what's going on.

> Next, consider that Berry never played in a Super Bowl - granted, he won NFL championships, and arguably was part of an era that "made" the NFL. He's a very good representative of the game to be named to this honor.

> Many of the BALTIMORE Colts were very clear in their disdain for anything Irsay after he left town (actually, BEFORE he left town) with his business franchise. What bothered (and, I admit, still bothers to a degree) many of us is what I call the "loss of innocence" that we felt when a part of our community was disgustingly ripped away and lost for years and years. Irsay as a businessman may or may not have made a wise decision - I really can't say for certain. As a human being/citizen of Maryland/member of the community, he was a piece of shit -- and that may be giving shit a bad name. Those who desire to cut ties with him and his franchise have my full support. However, if Berry chooses to retain a semblance of allegiance and participate, I don't condemn him - he was not the one who did Baltimore wrong.

> Read the linked article I posted -- IMHO, this has more to do with the NFL's meddling than the Indy franchise trying to rub anyone's nose in anything.

> Finally, from the link -
"When asked to present the Lombardi Trophy, Berry said he was “totally blown away. Man alive, what a tremendous honor. I just hope I can lift the durn thing.”"

Again, I can't fault Berry. He sees this as a great honor, and far be it from me to piss on his parade, BALTIMORE Colts fan or no.

Of course, this is just one guy's opinion...

[bensmotorcyclehelmt]

I think it will be perfect symmetry to have Berry hand the Lombardi to Harbaugh in Indianapolis.....the dolts fans will be jumping out of windows and off bridges.....

I disagree. I've never met an INDY Dolts fan with a pulse.

I think most of the Dolts fans are busy watching their first love- the Pacers.

[JMUpurkfool]

I think I remember reading something awhile ago about Berry not really identifying himself with the Ravens at all and that he was basically the only former Colt who supported the other franchise.

[AirFlacco]

I'm with T. Screw him. He and Shula are the only
old Colts that went to Indy. Oh, Shula took Mackey with him when he went into their ring of honor. For
Shula it was payback but the old timers like Gino
and Fatso and Lenny never went.

Unitas' book mentions Raymond getting involved with
Peyton Manning when he wrote him a letter about some plays and made suggestions. Manning liked them and wrote back. Then he invited him up there as his
guest.

Berry even went to a big banquet up there with
old man Irsay there. This is very hurtful to us old timers who watched him play but Berry was
always different and eccentric. He invented
wrist bands to keep the sweating down and
had some quirks and was aloff. When he
got back from his honeymoon the guys asked
how it went and he said, "she runs a good
projector." LOL. He watched game film on
his wedding night.


I even met him once as a kid. It was at a camp and he
and Don Schinnick stopped by to talk to us. I can still see their faces.

So screw him and screw Indy.

[TimTheEnchanter]

I'd love to see him give it to us, then have Bisciotti rent a Mayflower truck to carry the trophy home.

[MarkS]

Mildly disappointed, not hurt.

I'm curious to see how the Indy fans feel about this. The Colts have now played more games in Indy than they did in Baltimore. You'd think they could've found SOME retired Indy Colt who would represent the franchise, but who? These are the guys in the Indy Colts Ring of Honor:
Robert Irsay, Bill Brooks, Jim Harbaugh, Chris Hinton, Tony Dungy, Ted Marchibroda, 12th Man, Marvin Harrison.
If the criterion is "legendary" former player, I guess maybe Harrison fits the bill, but his recent legal issues make him a poor PR choice. And really, that's about it.

[BMore4Life79]

This makes me sick to my stomach. For those that "yawn" at this you are either not from Baltimore or have no respect for what happened to this city. This is disgusting, and to blow it off is not right. Are we over it? No.

Will we ever get over it? Only one way that happens....and it does take Sherlock Holmes to figure it out.

For the record, I'd rather have the Ravens colors, name, uniform etc. I think they are better than the old boring Colts. BUT - I want the damm records back and no association with our players and city.

[ActualSpamBot]

This makes me sick to my stomach. For those that "yawn" at this you are either not from Baltimore or have no respect for what happened to this city. This is disgusting, and to blow it off is not right. Are we over it? No.

Hyperbole much?

Many of us are from right here in the heart of Baltimore and simply do not give a shit anymore. We've won a Super Bowl since they left. We've added our own collection of Hall of Famers. We've forged a new football identity that may honor the old Colts, but is not based on those old Colts.

The Ravens are my team; the Colts are part of my history but that doesn't mean the city of Baltimore has some sort exclusive claim to the old guys who played for us back in the day.

If Ray Berry wants to hand the ultimate trophy over to the best team in the league this year, I don't think it much matters where the game is being played, he's rightfully looking at it as an honor.




---
I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=39.369120,-76.761143

[HoustonRaven]

This makes me sick to my stomach. For those that "yawn" at this you are either not from Baltimore or have no respect for what happened to this city. This is disgusting, and to blow it off is not right. Are we over it? No.

I assume since I am the only one who "yawned", this is a not-so-veiled shot at me. Ok, I'll bite.

I was born and raised in Maryland. Before I moved to Houston for work, I lived downtown. Eight years in Fells Point. My first football memories were me awakening on March 29, 1984 to find my father standing in our living, sobbing because the team has moved. My father had Colts season tickets I went to many Colts games with him. Up until last year to pay for my wife's surgery and our wedding, I owned PSL's in section 123, often flying from Houston to Baltimore for games and at a considerable expense.

And if you've followed my posts concerning the move even modestly, you'd know Colt roots run deep, both with respect for the old team, the common sense Unitas showed when he decided to have nothing to do with the Indy team, his funeral hearing the slow strains of the Colt fight song to this choice that Berry made under his own free will.

So excuse me when I say you don't know the first clue of what you're talking about when you get on my case regarding anything Colts related.

To criticize me, or anyone for that matter, over their individual reaction to Berry being on hand in Indy for the Super Bowl is the height of ignorance and has no place on this board whatsoever.

Each person who lived through that experience has their own way of coping, Berry included.