What can you really say about the Indianapolis Colts over the last twelve years of NFL play? Since drafting quarterback Peyton Manning with a first round pick in 1998, the Colts have become one of the most dominant teams in modern NFL history, with a current seven-season streak of twelve or more wins – the most such consecutive season records by any team ever. Under Manning’s leadership, the team has erased a thirty-six year Super Bowl drought and become a perennial contender for football’s ultimate prize.

Building through the draft

Prior to Peyton’s draft selection, the Colts’ leadership decided that they would utilize the draft to rebuild their team – a team that won only three games in the season before Manning’s arrival. At the time, this was considered a bold move. Other teams had grown accustomed to using free agency to load up on talent from one year to the next. Few teams still adhered to the old system that relied on the draft for a team’s future. Bill Polian, however, persevered in the decision, even when the criticism began over his choice of Manning. There were few Indianapolis fans that were not familiar with the one stigma that seemed permanently attached to Peyton from his time at the University of Tennessee: he was incapable of winning the big games that produced championships.

Learning on the fly

The first season with Manning proved worrisome, as the Colts repeated their three-win performance of the previous year. The next year, however, would see a complete turnaround in fortunes, as the Colts won thirteen of sixteen, then lost to the Titans in the playoffs. From that point onward, the Colts would have one winning season after another, with the six and ten 2001 performance proving to be only a bump in the road. The amazing streak of seasons between 1999 and 2009 would see the Colts win fewer than ten games in a season only during that 2001 campaign. The culmination of the team’s hard work finally came in the 2007 Super Bowl.

Super Bowl XLI

The 2006 campaign began with a flourish as the Colts won their first nine games, then lost the last three to end with a 12-4 season record. They entered the playoffs as the third seed in the AFC, marched through to the AFC title game, and overcame an eighteen point lead by the Patriots to capture the AFC crown. In a somewhat sloppy Super Bowl game that was played in the rain, the Colts defeated the Chicago Bears by a score of 29 to 17. The game was significant for many reasons.

First of all, the Colts became the first team in history to win the Super Bowl after having the League’s most inept rushing defense all year. They also became the very first team to play its home games under a dome and win the Super Bowl outdoors. Finally, Manning proved once and for all that he could at last win the big game by winning the biggest game of all.

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