Irsay Article

**purplepoe** · 10-15-2009, 05:19 PM

I might have posted this link back during the 06 season when the Colts were getting ready to come to town for the playoff game.

This article chronicles Robert Irsay's life. To say it's an interesting read is an understatement. Some of the quotes and information in this article are quite simply unbelievable.

I posted this in the thread about the 30 and 30 special but I thought giving it a thread might allow more people to read it.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vau...5650/index.htm

Once read, it's easy to see what kind of person the city of Baltimore was dealing with in 1984.

PP

**Losac** · 10-15-2009, 05:28 PM

The sad thing is, outside of Baltimore, most NFL fans simply don't care anymore. They believe the Colts left because the fans stopped supporting the team. And according to most we should stop crying "because we did the same thing to Cleveland".

At least some solace lies in the fact that the Colts were perennial losers in Indy during Irsay's entire life, and he never got a ring.

**Ravenjohn2000** · 10-15-2009, 10:30 PM

Great article. Its pretty amazing what Jim has done after his fathers death.

**Dave Lap** · 10-16-2009, 09:34 AM

THanks for posting that. It should be required reading for anyone who claims that Baltimore lost it's Colts because the fans stopped supporting the team. That statement is in part true but it's just the tip of the iceberg.

**Khaine** · 10-16-2009, 04:49 PM

God I get tired of the fracking 'well, you did the same to Cleveland!!1!11!!!11'

**ed from Bel Air** · 10-16-2009, 06:11 PM

Thanks for posting. I have an old, dog-eared copy of that article ( I thought it was from Sport magazine, not SI) that I pull out whenever someone says we lost the Colts because of lack of support. I also brought it to the Ravens-Colts playoff game that very painful Saturday several years ago. I made all the youngsters at our tailgate read it (before they started playing beer pong and flip cup) so they knew the history behind the Colts leaving.

I was actually imoressed with how Jim Irsay responded to the Barry Levinson questions on the ESPN special. He didn't shy away from his Father's issues, although the article you referenced basically said his father was a liar and cheater long before the drinking overwhelmed him.

**RAVENOUS52** · 10-16-2009, 06:24 PM

Irsay was truly one of the biggest pieces of human feces to walk God's green earth.

In the end, he received all the pain and misery he deserved.

**psuasskicker** · 10-16-2009, 09:32 PM

Thanks for sharing pp!

- C -

**RavenScallywag** · 10-16-2009, 09:57 PM

Here's the rub, and this is not going to make some people happy because...sigh, I'm about to defend some idiots in Cleveland...

Indianapolis did nothing to us. I have no problem with INDIANAPOLIS.
Bob Irsay is the one who took our team away, kept the name, colors, and records. It is SOLELY on him for moving this team away.

So by that measure, I suppose I am defending the people who continue to block Art Modell from the HoF, because it was Modell deciding to move their team away. The difference is the way the NFL treated our two cities after the move.

Baltimore was given empty promises of an expansion franchise down the road, was told we'd be better off as a meuseum town, and just consistently dumped on until someone else went around the NFL to get us a team.

Cleveland was embraced by the NFL, told that a horrible thing was done to them, and basically had the red carpet, Rolls Royce limousine, and champagne laid out for them. The NFL said "We'll keep your team colors, name, and history in Cleveland, you will get a new stadium and franchise in three years time"

Yeah, I'm not exactly proud of the fact that the Ravens came here under similar circumstances as the Colts left here...but Cleveland was treated WORLDS differently by the NFL. They didn't have to endure 13 years of lies, embarassment, and insults from the NFL.

That said, I think you can argue a lot more about what Modell has done for the NFL than Bob Irsay, so I think keeping that grudge against him when you have had your team back for 10 years now is a little ridiculous.
And yes, Jim Irsay is a complete turnaround from his father and I give him a lot of respect. The story I heard about him, being 16 years old, jumping on the Colts bus to apologize for his drunken father's tirade is just shocking and shows how tightly his head is screwed on compared to Bob Irsay's.