Indy is not a NFL town

**Flipping Birdie** · 11-30-2011, 04:19 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?

The article isn't about an Indianapolis TV station. It's about a Fort Wayne, IN TV station. Fort Wayne is 126 miles from Indianapolis and 200 miles from Chicago. The York, PA comparison made above IS roughly comparable.

As for calling them rats, they are no more rats than we are. We did the same thing. As it so happens I've never had any ire for Indianapolis for the team theft. I focused all that energy on Bob Irsay. Indianapolis was simply offered a team and did what any other city would do. Indianapolis just did what did a decade later. Yes, thankfully, Cleveland was treated a whole hell of a lot better by the NFL than they treated us; but even if Cleveland wasn't guaranteed a new franchise in 3 years Baltimore still would have happily taken the Browns when offered.

**Kevlar** · 11-30-2011, 08:42 PM

Originally Posted by SteelFaninBMore

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.

Do central PA stations always show the Ravens? My comcast out of Gettysburg (southern york county) trumps the Ravens all the time for the Eagles/Steelers if there is a conflict.

**SteelFaninBMore** · 11-30-2011, 11:04 PM

Originally Posted by Kevlar

Do central PA stations always show the Ravens? My comcast out of Gettysburg (southern york county) trumps the Ravens all the time for the Eagles/Steelers if there is a conflict.

If Gettysburg's CBS station is WHP21 (which serves most of central PA, and I would assume Gettysburg as well), then the same secondary market rules should apply.

That is, when the Ravens are on the road, WHP has to show the game. If the Ravens are at home, WHP can choose any game to show, and in that case will usually pick the Steelers, to try to give both fanbases equal airtime. This usually works out well, with a fairly even split of Ravens and Steeler games throughout the season.

As for the Eagles, they're usually on Fox45. Of the couple times a year that they are on CBS, same rules apply. Ravens on the road trumps both Philly and Pittsburgh, and if the Ravens are at home, CBS can choose from any available game.

It's gotta be tough for the station - I've read that they get flooded with angry calls every Sunday, from whatever fanbase isn't able to watch their team that week. It's a delicate balancing act.

**jgar** · 12-03-2011, 06:37 AM

Originally Posted by Flipping Birdie

The article isn't about an Indianapolis TV station. It's about a Fort Wayne, IN TV station. Fort Wayne is 126 miles from Indianapolis and 200 miles from Chicago. The York, PA comparison made above IS roughly comparable.

As for calling them rats, they are no more rats than we are. We did the same thing. As it so happens I've never had any ire for Indianapolis for the team theft. I focused all that energy on Bob Irsay. Indianapolis was simply offered a team and did what any other city would do. Indianapolis just did what did a decade later. Yes, thankfully, Cleveland was treated a whole hell of a lot better by the NFL than they treated us; but even if Cleveland wasn't guaranteed a new franchise in 3 years Baltimore still would have happily taken the Browns when offered.

The biggest difference between Irsay and Modell is that Modell is a decent man. Irsay was a joke, he was always drunk and traded all of the great players. He virtually ruined a once proud franchise. He should have let Baltimore keep all the records and their name. Indianapolis has nothing to do with the word "Colts" they are a basketball town.
Jim Irsay is a better man than his Dad, but Peyton Manning is the lifeblood of the Colts. This year proves that. I know that everyone talks about how great Andrew Luck is but if he is drafted by Indy he will always be in the shadow of Peyton. That will be hard to live up to. What will the Colts do with Manning this Spring is the big question. Will they just let him go after all he has done for that franchise? I don't know, but they probably can't afford Peyton and Andrew Luck. If they keep him how much cap room will they have left for other players. I think we are seeing Indy going downhill for a while to come. Mismanaged again by the next generation of the Irsay family. He won't just move in the middle of the night because they have a long contract with Indy because of Lucas Oil Field. However, Indianapolis is going to have lots of blackouts in the future. Peyton on the other hand if he is still able to play will be wanted by almost every other team in the NFL.

**Agent 47** · 12-03-2011, 08:54 AM

I almost never put any stock in or even pay much attention to fan polls, but still remember the ESPN SportsNation one a couple years ago, when the Ravens played the Colts late in the season. One of the questions was, 'Which is the better football town?' Indianapolis beat Baltimore by something like 60-40. Had to SMH on that one.