Ravens, Colts blog

With the Ravens-Colts game this sunday I decided to blog about an issue that means a lot to me and even more to my Dad, and that is the Colts name. For those of you that don't know the Colts were in Baltimore where they won many championships, played in 2 super bowls winning one behind legends like Johnny Unitas, Art Donovan, Gino Marchetti, Raymond Berry, and Lenny Moore among others. Then in 1983 after a period of losing and John Elway refusing to come here the owner Robert Irsay moved the team in the middle of the night to Indianapolis and took the name with it. This left Baltimore without a team until 1996 when the Ravens came here from Cleavland where they were the Browns.
The major difference between the Colts move and the Ravens move (as well as other moves such as the Titans going from Houston to Nashville) is that we allowed Cleavland to keep their name and history when the Colts took the name and the history with them to Indy. Although my dad told me about this I really did not hit me until I went to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio when I was 12 or something and they had an exhibit where they listed all the teams and the hall of famers who played with those teams and I saw Unitas, Moore, Berry, and others listed as the INDIANAPOLIS colts, this really upset my dad. Now I am not blaming the current players, in fact I have a lot of respect for Peyton, Jeff Saturday, Freeney and the Colts stars, I just wish there was some way Baltimore could be given the name back and the history up until 1983 that goes with it.
As far as this weeks game goes I like the Ravens chances for many reasons. First of all the Colts have gotten lucky to win the past 3 weeks from a dropped pass that would have set up an easy TD against the Niners, to a fumble on the 1 and missed game-tying FG against Houston, to the now infamous 4th and 2 against New England. Thus their luck has got to run out at some point why not this week. Also they are extremly hampered in the secondary (3 of 4 starters out due to injury) and at WR (Gonzalez is out and Collie has not been the same recently) so if the Ravens are going to beat the Colts now would be the time. Also since the start of this decade the Ravens have played better as an underdog from going into #1 seeded Tennesse in the playoffs and winning twice, to closing out Texas Stadium with a win, to beating and exposing the then unbeaten Broncos. Furthermore in recent years they have been a second half team (going 6-2 last year) and they need to win this game to regain their status as a super bowl contender. Lastly I see this as Ray Rice's coming out party as he takes advantage of a weak Indy run D and leads Baltimore to victory 27-24.