Indianapolis Colts

The Indianapolis Colts team joined the NFL as the Baltimore Colts in 1953. The Colts were created as a replacement for the Dallas Texans which folded the year before. During the franchise’s stint in Baltimore, the team was able to capture four NFL championships, including the Super Bowl V. Thereafter, the franchise transferred to Indianapolis and became the Indianapolis Colts. From 1984 to 1997, the time when the Indianapolis Colts was under the ownership of Robert Irsay, the team only appeared in the playoffs three times (1987, 1995, 1996), highlighted by a conference championship loss to the Pittsburg Steelers.

Things changed when the franchise was inherited by Robert’s son, Jim Irsay. In his first year as owner, the team drafted quarterback Peyton Manning. This led to the creation of one of the best defensive teams in the league. Initially, the team was criticized that the Colts football only focused on offense, and Indianapolis Colts football defense was at that time one of the worst in the league. The Colts football team would eventually not make the 2001 playoffs.

To address the team’s concern in defense, the franchise hired Tony Dungy, former coach of Tampa Bay who is known as one of the best defensive coaches in the league. From there, the team stepped up on the defensive end, making an appearance in the next year’s playoffs and never failed to make the cut from then on. The 2002 – 2005 seasons resulted in a series of playoff losses, and many believed the reason was because Manning was not capable of handling the pressure of the playoffs. Colts Superbowl will just have to wait until the next season. Meantime, the team continued to work on defense.

The 2006 season is the Superbowl Colts season. After a few seasons of disappointing performances in the playoffs, not many fans bet that Indianapolis Colts will make it to the Super Bowl. However, this time the team silenced all critics and marched on to the Super Bowl after beating conference rivals New England Patriots in one of the most stunning comeback efforts in NFL playoffs history. Colts Super Bowl is now a reality and it culminated in a win against the Chicago Bears, 29-17.

Fans are ecstatic about their new NFL Championship team, and sales of team merchandise are on the rise. Indianapolis Colts photos and Indianapolis Colts helmet with the official Indianapolis Colts logo are among the favorite Indianapolis Colts apparel and souvenirs. If you visit the Colts official website, you can download Indianapolis Colts wallpaper and Indianapolis Colts pictures of the all the Colts players. Among the most popular images are those that feature the Indianapolis Colts cheerleaders.