Indy is not a NFL town

**GOTA** · 11-29-2011, 08:14 AM

Indy has always been and will always be a frontrunning NFL town. No Manning means no interest. Once the Jeff George era returns they'll be back to blackouts.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shu...rn=nfl-wp12732

The Indianapolis Colts are a sad, mopey, miserable football team that aggressively drains the life force out of anyone who watches them play because they want them to win.

Still, people expect them to be on television, which raises an interesting question: At what point does a local network television affiliate have a social responsibility to not show something that makes people so sad? It's like showing a live beheading in primetime. Yeah, it would probably be a ratings hit, but is it a good thing for society? When is it up to a TV station to protect viewers from themselves?

For the local Fox affiliate in Fort Wayne, Ind., just a two-hour drive from Indianapolis, that time came Sunday. Ten losses were enough. One more metaphorical shiv to the ribcage at the hands of Cam Newton(notes) and the Carolina Panthers? No thank you. The people of Fort Wayne will watch the Bears, and they'll like it. (Chicago is also only 200 miles away from Fort Wayne). From FortWayne.com:

The Fox channel had the rights to the Colts' home game, but it could only broadcast one game because CBS had the doubleheader Sunday. Indiana's NewsCenter chose the late-afternoon Chicago Bears game at Oakland over the Colts' 27-19 loss that dropped them to 0-11.

"The buck stops with me," Jerry Giesler, president and general manager of Indiana's NewsCenter, said in a telephone interview. "We talked a lot about it internally. Of course, the year in, year out logical choice would be the Colts. Absolutely, no question. The reason we went with the Bears was to follow the compelling story, their (playoff) hopes alive, a new quarterback."

**Ravenswintitle** · 11-29-2011, 08:44 AM

I can't believe Pats at Indy is the sunday night game - pathetic. Would like to see them flex an afternoon game instead but I don't think the rules allow.

**chicagoravensfan** · 11-29-2011, 09:20 AM

I'm glad to see the chickens come home to roost for Irsay and the Polians. Bill Polian and his son have been treated like geniuses because they had the good fortune of drafting one of the all time best QBs, yet Polian carried himself with the same arrogance that we see from Belichick and Parcells. They made some nice picks in Freeney, Mathis and Wayne but the fact that they are so miserably bad now is a reflection of how badly they've drafted and managed the cap for the last 5 years.

It's annoying that they get to have the #1 pick again in a year with a top QB coming out because they're a team that deserves to be JaMarcus'd.

**Tyrian** · 11-29-2011, 09:48 AM

Originally Posted by Ravenswintitle

I can't believe Pats at Indy is the sunday night game - pathetic. Would like to see them flex an afternoon game instead but I don't think the rules allow.

It isn't, it was flexed for the Lions @ Saints game.

**Paintballguy** · 11-29-2011, 10:17 AM

Originally Posted by Tyrian

It isn't, it was flexed for the Lions @ Saints game.

I have a feeling that the Saints will blow out the Lions.

**GOTA** · 11-29-2011, 12:47 PM

I'm sure local ratings suck for Indy games. Rats are always the first to abandon ship

**bensmotorcyclehelmt** · 11-29-2011, 01:04 PM

"Indy is not a NFL town"

The headline from "No Sh-t!" Magazine...

**Captain Silver** · 11-29-2011, 01:40 PM

Indy is one horse town, er man, er Manning... when he's gone, they should finally change their name and logo. Put some ghosts on the helmet to reflect the fans.

Seriously, for all the dominance, 1 Super Bowl victory? I never want to hear people yammer about the Ravens defense and only 1 ring. Manning has the same number as Ray. Who won multiple Super Bowls besides the Patcheatriots?

Bet the Ravens will have more fans over the next 10 years at the stadium then the Colts will.

**Ravenswintitle** · 11-29-2011, 01:57 PM

Originally Posted by Tyrian

It isn't, it was flexed for the Lions @ Saints game.

thanks - good news I guess; beats pats/colts

**SteelFaninBMore** · 11-29-2011, 02:06 PM

Originally Posted by GOTA

Indy has always been and will always be a frontrunning NFL town. No Manning means no interest. Once the Jeff George era returns they'll be back to blackouts.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shu...rn=nfl-wp12732

The Indianapolis Colts are a sad, mopey, miserable football team that aggressively drains the life force out of anyone who watches them play because they want them to win.

Still, people expect them to be on television, which raises an interesting question: At what point does a local network television affiliate have a social responsibility to not show something that makes people so sad? It's like showing a live beheading in primetime. Yeah, it would probably be a ratings hit, but is it a good thing for society? When is it up to a TV station to protect viewers from themselves?

For the local Fox affiliate in Fort Wayne, Ind., just a two-hour drive from Indianapolis, that time came Sunday. Ten losses were enough. One more metaphorical shiv to the ribcage at the hands of Cam Newton(notes) and the Carolina Panthers? No thank you. The people of Fort Wayne will watch the Bears, and they'll like it. (Chicago is also only 200 miles away from Fort Wayne). From FortWayne.com:

The Fox channel had the rights to the Colts' home game, but it could only broadcast one game because CBS had the doubleheader Sunday. Indiana's NewsCenter chose the late-afternoon Chicago Bears game at Oakland over the Colts' 27-19 loss that dropped them to 0-11.

"The buck stops with me," Jerry Giesler, president and general manager of Indiana's NewsCenter, said in a telephone interview. "We talked a lot about it internally. Of course, the year in, year out logical choice would be the Colts. Absolutely, no question. The reason we went with the Bears was to follow the compelling story, their (playoff) hopes alive, a new quarterback."

There's a couple problems with this story.

One, the Colts aren't normally on Fox. They were only on Fox because the Panthers (NFC team) were visiting. The Colts will not be on Fox again this year, so it won't be up to the local Fox affiliate to choose between them and the Bears.

Two, the Colts have three of their last five games on the road. I'm willing to bet that the Fort Wayne area is a secondary market for the Colts, much like the York, PA area is for the Ravens. If that's the case, the NFL dictates that the local CBS affiliate MUST show Indy's road games, much like CBS stations in Central PA must show the Ravens when they are on the road.

Three, of the Colts two remaining games at home, one of them is on Thursday night. That leaves one home game (vs TEN at 1 pm, week 15), where the Fort Wayne CBS station has a choice of what game it wants to show. And that week, there are only three early games on CBS - Titans/Colts, Bengals/Rams, and Dolphins/Bills. Nothing that looks more attractive enough to bounce out the Colts.

So yes, for at least 4 out of the last 5 weeks of the season - and probably all 5 - the people of Fort Wayne will watch the Colts, whether they like it or not.

**JeromeBettis63** · 11-30-2011, 10:55 AM

This is STILL a sore spot for Baltimore sports fans. They voted Irsay the most hated man in sports for like 15 straight years. Let it go man...bitterness is a killer. Its like drinking rat poison and thinking it will get rid of the rodents in your house.

**GOTA** · 11-30-2011, 11:03 AM

Originally Posted by JeromeBettis63

This is STILL a sore spot for Baltimore sports fans. They voted Irsay the most hated man in sports for like 15 straight years. Let it go man...bitterness is a killer. Its like drinking rat poison and thinking it will get rid of the rodents in your house.

If the Steelers were having a terrible season would any TV station that normally broadcast Steelers games decide to to show an Eagles game instead? Of course not. It would never happen in Baltimore, NY, Green Bay, Chicago, KC, Denver and a bunch of other cities. Even Detroit that recently went through a winless season would never not show Lions games.

That's the difference between the Indy fans and real NFL cities. They do not have as many dedicated fans and it shows at times like this. The Jags fans get called out for these type of things so why shouldn't the Indy fans?

**RavensRock** · 11-30-2011, 11:23 AM

I hope we beat the living shit out of Indy when they come here. This couldn't happen to a better group of fans. LOL

**SPRavensFan** · 11-30-2011, 11:33 AM

The new buyer of the Jags has said he plans on keeping the team in Jacksonville. Also if he were to try to move the team it would be a long-drawn out process to break the stadium lease. It runs through 2027.

The cards are falling right in place......hello Los Angeles Colts.

**Tyrian** · 11-30-2011, 11:38 AM

Originally Posted by SPRavensFan

The new buyer of the Jags has said he plans on keeping the team in Jacksonville. Also if he were to try to move the team it would be a long-drawn out process to break the stadium lease. It runs through 2027.

The cards are falling right in place......hello Los Angeles Colts.

After the Oil Drum was built? They may move in the future, but it won't be for a long time yet.

**SPRavensFan** · 11-30-2011, 12:00 PM

Originally Posted by Tyrian

After the Oil Drum was built? They may move in the future, but it won't be for a long time yet.

I'm sure Jimmy boy will follow in the footsteps of Bourbon Bob and pack up the team and skip town under the darkness of the night.

**sailorsam** · 11-30-2011, 01:33 PM

Originally Posted by chicagoravensfan

I'm glad to see the chickens come home to roost for Irsay and the Polians. Bill Polian and his son have been treated like geniuses because they had the good fortune of drafting one of the all time best QBs, yet Polian carried himself with the same arrogance that we see from Belichick and Parcells. They made some nice picks in Freeney, Mathis and Wayne but the fact that they are so miserably bad now is a reflection of how badly they've drafted and managed the cap for the last 5 years.

It's annoying that they get to have the #1 pick again in a year with a top QB coming out because they're a team that deserves to be JaMarcus'd.

good points. draft 5-7 players a year for 10 years or so and you're bound to get some winners (Bob Sanders, Marvin Harrison), but this year shows how thin the team really is, not to mention the idea of a playoff-caliber team with no proven backup qb. (Ravens in that position only because Bulger went home unexpectedly; rumor was he was set to return if Flacco went down).
oh, wait, the Polians fired their D-Coord. so that was the problem!

**SPRavensFan** · 11-30-2011, 03:24 PM

Go back and look through their draft history the past couple years. They've struck out a lot. Aside from a few good picks they've made in later rounds no one that they have drafted in the past couple years are key contributors to the team. Half the players aren't even on the Colts anymore.

Guys like Austin Collie, Pierre Garcon, hell even Dallas Clark aren't anything without Peyton.

How sweet would it be if the Colts drafted Andrew Luck, but he turned out to be a bust and Matt Barkley goes on to be a stud?

**acisking** · 11-30-2011, 03:58 PM

Indiana is a basketball state. High school basketball dominates there. Yea the Pacers have been god awful for a while (though they have surprisingly decent support), but the Hoosiers are still well supported.

Football is second. The Indy fans rode the wave when they had Manning, but there is no deep rooted love for the Colts there.

**JeromeBettis63** · 11-30-2011, 04:14 PM

Originally Posted by GOTA

If the Steelers were having a terrible season would any TV station that normally broadcast Steelers games decide to to show an Eagles game instead? Of course not. It would never happen in Baltimore, NY, Green Bay, Chicago, KC, Denver and a bunch of other cities. Even Detroit that recently went through a winless season would never not show Lions games.

That's the difference between the Indy fans and real NFL cities. They do not have as many dedicated fans and it shows at times like this. The Jags fans get called out for these type of things so why shouldn't the Indy fans?

One stupid TV exec doesn't necessarily reflect the entire city and fan base.