If Indy Colts move to L.A., shouldn't the Ravens become the Colts? (1 Viewer)

[KeithH]

There is talk on espn.go.com about the Indianapolis Colts possibly moving to Los Angeles. If it happens, I vote for the Baltimore Ravens to become the Balitmore Colts, complete with the traditional Colts uniforms. The new team in Los Angeles could get a new name or just go with Ravens. Anyway, I'm sure it wouldn't happen, but I would love to see a Baltimore Colts team again.
Here is the link to the story about a possible move of the Colts franchise on espn.go.com:
http://www.espn.go.com/chrismortense...2/1430810.html

 

[Scott Merryfield]

It's an interesting idea. I like the way that Cleveland retained the Browns nickname when Modell moved his team to Baltimore. The NFL could make a rule that any franchise relocation could require the franchise to leave the nickname with the vacated city. I still think "Colts" every time I see Baltimore in the standings.

However, the new Houston team chose to pass up the Oilers nickname, even though it was once again available after Tennessee changed its name to the Titans. It was nice that the new Houston owner asked Lamar Hunt for permission to use the Texans nickname (the Kansas City Chiefs used to be the Dallas Texans).

 

[Bill_Weinreich]

IMHO the BALTIMORE Colts left on a Mayflower moving van. It took Md a long time to get past this and move on. Now they have a (snicker) team (snicker) that they can back.


Go Skins!!

Bill

 

[Marvin]

I think I read once that when the Browns moved to Baltimore and left their hearts, I mean, name in Cleveland, they (or someone) asked about naming the team the Colts but Indianapolis declined. I don't know if that was true but it would have been a good idea.

I still can't get used to the idea of a team called the "St. Louis Rams". Seems to me the Cardinals should have switched names when they moved so the Rams could have become the Cardinals.

 

[Andrew_Sch]

Now they have a (snicker) team (snicker) that they can back.

You can snicker at us all you want, just don't forget to call us Super Bowl XXXV champs.

 

[KeithH]

Now there's an idea:
Indianapolis Colts become the Los Angeles Rams
St. Louis Rams become the St. Louis Cardinals
Baltimore Ravens become the Baltimore Colts
I like that! As for the Ravens, who needs them?

 

[Marvin]

As for the Ravens, who needs them?

The Arizona Ravens???

 

[John Thomas]

The Utah Jazz becomes the Utah Hornets, since Charlotte is moving to New Orleans. Eh! Eh! What do you think?
...and the Mets revert to either the Dodgers or Giants. Take your pick.

 

[Joseph S]

How about the Baltimore Rough Riders and the LA Roughriders.

 

[KeithH]

Marvin,
I forgot about the Arizona team. The Arizona Cardinals are somewhat invisible anyway. O.K., so Arizona Ravens it is.
John,
Nah, the Mets are O.K. There is some tradition there. All those losses in '62. The Amazin's in '69. The Miracle Mets in '86. We'll leave the Mets as is. Besides, some baseball fans in Los Angeles and San Francisco might have something to say about it.

 

[DeanR]

If I remember correctly when the Browns moved to Baltimore they asked the Colts if they could work out an arrangement so they could become the Baltimore Colts. Old man Irsay asked for $25 million. Needless to say that asking price led to the birth of the Baltimore Ravens .

 

[Evan S]

If I remember correctly, when Art Modell moved the Browns to Baltimore, as part of the other owners agreeing to allow him to move, they FORCED him to give up the name "Browns" as part of the package deal. Not sure if he tried to retain the name "Colts" for his new franchise in Baltimore, but I know he was forced to give up the name as part of the deal. Actually, Ravens works rather well for Baltimore as it's Edgar Allen Poe's hometown and of course we all know a certain short story he is famous for...but I agree Baltimore Colts is more classy and recognized.

As for the Colts moving to LA, could happen, but the Irsay family owns the rights to the team nickname and I doubt they give that up for nothing. So the previous story referenced could have some credence. I bet he keeps the name "Colts" even if he moved to LA.

 

[Seth Paxton]

Old man Irsay asked for $25 million.

Keep in mind that son Jimmy is a lot more sensible and reasonable than his old man Bob.
It kills me how many Indy residents complain about the ticket prices, when Jimmy specifically raised the lower level prices a few years ago in order to REDUCE the upper level prices, or at least maintain. At the time, maybe 5 years ago, you could get a decent upper level seat for $25.
As it stands now there are still some really cheap seats in the rafters which aren't particularly comfortable, but you still have a decent view of the game. $40 will put you in a solid upper level seat (I love upper corner seats the best, you get the best view of the action).
Irsay is working hard with the city to stay here, and being amazingly upfront about it all. Just read the latest Mort report on it over at ESPN.com. Pretty much sums it up.
What kills me was that you have people hear saying "I support basketball" yet the Fever don't sell out, and the World Basketball Games were HORRIBLY undersold, almost embarrassingly so.
Indy is just a cheap-ass town when it comes to sports fans.
Let's put it into perspective. They year after the 95 miracle run, same team coming back, we had a week 4 MNF game against the biggest rival in the division, Miami.
Looking at the schedule it showed that Miami would most likely be 3-0 at that point and that the Colts should go 2-0 before facing the champion Cowboys in week 3, the team that I thought the Colts matched up well against and maybe could have beat where the Steelers couldn't (Super Bowl the year before). Then, considering this, it seemed that week 4 could really be this incredible matchup because if the Colts pulled off the "upset" against the Cowboys in week 3, you would have 2 3-0 teams playing on MNF to go 4-0 and have undisputed lead of the AFC East.
I went and got tickets from a broker early. Sadly, I was able to get 3rd row on the 30 yard line behind the Colts bench for about $130 a pop. Why "sadly"? Because if it were the Packers and Bears on MNF both possibly 3-0, do you think I could have gotten that seat PERIOD? Pretty doubtful.
Well, the stupid game didn't even sell out until we beat the Cowboys, IIRC. It was one of the greatest Indy Colts games ever, with the Colts winning 10-7 to go 4-0 (including Harbaugh climbing from the bottom of a pile with a fumble recovery to save the game down the stretch).
The point being that DESPITE an AFC championship run and the very reasonable promise of a potentially HUGE matchup for MNF in Indy for the first time in forever, people still were slow to get on board. All you heard was "Yeah, but that was a fluke".
And that's why a team with Manning, Edge, and Harrison (not to mention adding Dungy and joining a weak division) just gets 35K in season ticket sales. People here are waiting for something better. :frowning:
BTW, I'm not working and am attending (and spending on) grad school, and even I picked up tickets to 3 of the games this year.
The NFL does not want to let the Colts move, Jimmy doesn't particularly want to move, but the fanbase is almost begging them to go with their apathy. Having spent 3 years in Houston while they didn't have a football team, I know what it's like for a city to be without one. For any sports fan it feels rather empty.
BTW, while I appreciate why a name change might be nice, it's been 18 years of Indy Colts, so we are kinda attached to it now. Maybe if someone had asked right off the bat it would have been fine (ala the Browns). But my Blue and White goes great with my Blue and Gold.
Subnote - next time someone talks about MLB coming to Indy, think about what I said above. NO WAY, NEVER will Indy be able to support a MLB team. (well, maybe if we strike oil or gold and have a big in-rush of population)

 

[Robert Crawford]

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...504#post997504
That's the way it should be with Arizona getting another name.
Crawdaddy

 

[Michael D. Bunting]

Seth pretty much summed it up - my feelings almost exactly.
I'm a former resident of Indy myself - I always went to as many Colts games as possible (I even had road trips where some friends and I drove to Kansas City, Miami, and Tennesee for away games!).
I don't particulary care for the RCA Dome - I just like the more traditional outdoor stadiums - and I wish they could get one built there in Indy for the Colts. That being said - The Dome is a good stadium - It's very "serviceable" at the least.
Heck...I even supported the Indianapolis Ice (IHL team) for 3-4 years
I hope they do not move...I am a huge INDY Colts fan. I would bet that there is at least a 60% chance they do head to LA though...but man I hope I'm wrong!

 

[Scott Merryfield]

What kills me was that you have people hear saying "I support basketball" yet the Fever don't sell out, and the World Basketball Games were HORRIBLY undersold, almost embarrassingly so.

Who the heck is the 'Fever'? If it's the WNBA, I cannot understand why you are surprised that it doesn't sell out.

 

[Jason Seaver]

As much as relocating teams sometimes leads to strange sounding names ("Utah Jazz") or linked team names being separated (the two "Cardinals"-es, for instance, though I'm sure glad Boston doesn't have to deal with having both "Braves" and "Redskins" for team names), I'm pretty sure I don't like the idea of moving "in-use" names around.

Doesn't that just make the name completely arbitrary and remove it of any meaning? Sure, it's only football, which is both the most anonymous of major league sports in America (partly by design) and the most transient - not only do franchises move willy-nilly, but there's not as much connection to previous generations as other sports have. Renaming the team in Baltimore the "Colts" would just be false nostalgia, though not as disingenuous as it would be in baseball or basketball. I just don't see the point; besides, it would be an essentially meaningless move to the younger generation of fans who think Indianapolis when someone says "Colts".

Of course, it would also spur a whole bunch of new jersey and memorabelia sales, and don't think that hasn't entered into everyone's mind.

Interestingly enough, there's precedent for this (to an extent) right in Baltimore. The Baltimore Orioles which were one of the six original American League teams are not the same Orioles that play there now; the original Orioles packed up shop after a year or two and moved to New York, becoming the Yankees; when a new team was placed/moved to Baltimore later, they took the vacant "Orioles" nickname.

 

[Marvin]

Interestingly enough, there's precedent for this (to an extent) right in Baltimore. The Baltimore Orioles which were one of the six original American League teams are not the same Orioles that play there now; the original Orioles packed up shop after a year or two and moved to New York, becoming the Yankees; when a new team was placed/moved to Baltimore later, they took the vacant "Orioles" nickname.

I assume you mean 8, not 6, original AL teams, right? Actually, the Baltimore Orioles first became the New York Highlanders before they changed their name to the Yankees. I guess team names were not as set in concrete then as they are now. The Dodgers changed their name several times (Trolley Dodgers, Superbas, Robins, maybe others?), weren't the Boston Braves called the Doves and Beaneaters at one point?

And if I'm not mistaken, the current Orioles started life as the Milwaukee Brewers who then became the St Louis Browns. Should they be called the Baltimore Brewers?

Oops, forgot another precedent: when the original Washinton Senators moved to Minnesota, they left their old name behind which was soon taken by the expansion Senators, who also left the name when they moved to Texas. Maybe the Montreal Expos will become the 3rd version of the Washington Senators?

 

[Chris Brunner]

You can snicker at us all you want, just don't forget to call us Super Bowl XXXV champs.

Thank you Andrew. It's a bummer that our Ravens, no matter what, never get any respect/consideration in the league. Even after 7 seasons and a Super Bowl title.

You'd think after living in the Northern Virginia area for 35 years, I'd be used to Redskins fans and their "Our team is the BEST and EVERY OTHER TEAM SUCKS" mentality (as proudly and sophisticatedly demonstrated by Bill_W).

When was the last time the 'SKINS had a season worth mentioning??? ....and the RAVENS are laughable??? (snicker) (snicker)

I really wanted the Colts name back when the Browns moved. I felt bad for the people in Cleveland, but nobody felt bad for us in '84. I wanted Modell to offer Irsay whatever Irsay wanted. But it's too late now. I'm attached to the Ravens.

They may be a bit flat this year, but I am excited to think what they will be like when these new guys mature. And, I am just greatfull that I HAVE a team now.

c

The legend of Unitas will never die in Baltimore.

 

[RobertR]

Keep in mind that son Jimmy is a lot more sensible and reasonable than his old man Bob.

Incidentally, the lack of sensibility and reasonableness of the elder Irsay is why John Elway wanted to be traded to another team. I think history shows he made the right decision.