Indianapolis Colts: The 16 Best Moments in Team History

For a team with a 27-year history in Indianapolis, it is amazing how few highlights exist from their first dozen years in the Circle City. The late 1980s and early 1990s were a wasteland for Colts football, with miserable records, poor play and ill-advised draft picks.

The watershed year for the organization came in 1998. In that year, Jim Irsay hired Bill Polian as president and the Colts picked Peyton Manning No. 1 in the draft.

The Colts made incremental improvements in the years immediately after Manning's signing. Once Tony Dungy took over from Jim Mora Sr. as head coach in 2002, the special moments came fast and furiously and the Colts finished out the decade as one of the greatest teams of the era.

The following slideshow will provide a subjective overview of the 16 best moments in Indianapolis Colts history. We'll start with No. 16, and then cap off the list with the best of the best.

Let me know if I missed one of your favorites!

Lucas Oil Stadium Debuts in 2008

To prove its faithfulness to the Colts, the City of Indianapolis and the State of Indiana ponied up all but $100 million of the $720 million cost for Lucas Oil Stadium. The stadium, which will host this season's Super Bowl, is an enormous and classy edifice.

Cowboys Stadium may prove that everything is bigger in Texas, but it certainly doesn't prove that everything is better. "The Luke" is a great place to catch a game.

Commentators have suggested that the Colts success in the 2000s is directly responsible for its construction. The new field exists because of the phenomenal play that happened on the old field.

Colts Sign Adam Vinatieri from the Patriots Prior to the 2006 Season

Signing the most clutch kicker in the history of the NFL has to rank somewhere on the list of best moments in Indianapolis Colts history. Adam Vinatieri was signed just a few short months after Mike Vanderjagt pulled a potentially game-tying 46-yarder wide right to end a theretofore impressive 2005 for the Colts.

After that disappointment against the Pittsburgh Steelers, getting a worthy replacement for Vanderjagt was especially gratifying for Colts fans.

1987: Colts Make the Playoffs for the First Time in Indianapolis

Behind the sensational running of star Eric Dickerson, the Colts surged to a 9-6 record in 1987 and made the playoffs for the first time in Indianapolis. Though they were unceremoniously booted in the first round by the Cleveland Browns, that year provided a small glimmer of hope in an otherwise ghastly decade.

Colts Draft Dwight Freeney in the First Round in 2002

Since being taken at No. 11 in the 2002 draft, Freeney has provided Colts faithful with miles of highlights. With an auspicious nine forced fumbles in his rookie season, Freeney took the NFL by storm and maintains his place as one of the league's top end rushers.

Freeney strikes fear into the hearts of quarterbacks and offensive coordinators, and without his leadership on defense, the Colts would not be perennial contenders.

Colts Beat Dolphins To Extend Win Streak to Eight Games in 1999

In what became a "passing of the torch" game, Peyton Manning beat Dan Marino's Miami Dolphins in a wild, high-scoring shootout. Olindo Mare tied the game with a field goal with 36 seconds left, but the Colts drove it right back to set up a 53-yarder for Mike Vanderjagt, who nailed it home and kept the Colts rolling toward a 13-3 record. It was a highlight game in a season that saw the Colts turn around from a 3-13 campaign the year before and blossom into a team to be reckoned with.

Although the Colts couldn't get past the first round of the playoffs that year, they did show that they were on the upswing behind the arm of Peyton Manning, the hands of Marvin Harrison and the legs of Edgerrin James.

Colts Pass Their Way to a Record-Breaking 2004 Regular Season

The 2004 Colts offense was a beautiful sight to behold. Marvin Harrison was at the height of his powers, young guns Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark were reliably excellent targets and Brandon Stokley served as a machine in the slot. Through it all, Edge carried the rock with authority.

Setting the record (at the time) with 49 touchdown passes on the season, Peyton Manning went on to win the MVP Award (his second) for his stellar play through the year. As had been their modus operandi to that point, the Colts suffered a heartbreaking loss in the playoffs that soured the taste of their mostly magnificent 2004.

First Home Playoff Win Comes Against Denver Broncos in January 2004

The Colts lowered the boom on the Broncos quickly in this one. Late in the first quarter, Manning threw a 16-yard pass to Harrison, and Marvin fell to the turf (as he often did). While Broncos players stood around arguing about who missed the assignment, Harrison nonchalantly got up and ran into the end zone. Jake Plummer and the Broncos were then handily dismantled by the Colts on the way to a 41-10 victory.

While the Colts couldn't sustain this success in the playoffs that year, Manning did begin to show signs of life in big-game situations.

Amazing Fourth Quarter Against the Buccaneers Leads To Upset Win in 2003

In his first game against his old team, Colts coach Tony Dungy found his team down 21-0 at the half. The fourth quarter that October night would be special, however. Putting up 28 points through a combination of grit, hard running from unknown backs and several great series of pass-and-catches between Manning and Harrison, the Colts drew even with the Bucs at the close of regulation. Then Mike Vanderjagt finished off the improbable comeback with a 29-yard field goal with 3:47 remaining in overtime.

The Buccaneers, who had been taunting the Colts and Manning after racing to a fast start, were humbled and the Colts went on to have a great regular season.

Colts Run to the Super Bowl Against the Saints in 2009

2009 was a very different type of Super Bowl run than the Colts' 2006 Super Bowl push. The Colts steamed towards a perfect season at 12-0 after a succession of great come-from-behind victories and gritty performances by the Colts' unsung defense and Peyton Manning.

Then, in a decision that is still hotly debated today, head coach Jim Caldwell put Curtis Painter and third-stringers into a close game versus the New York Jets at Lucas Oil Stadium. With 14 wins under their belts at that point, Caldwell decided to rest his starters for the playoffs.

Many folks in Indianapolis began to forgive him when the team didn't seem to suffer any ill effects from the long layoff and proceeded to pound their way through the AFC to a date with the Saints in the Super Bowl. Though they didn't end up winning it, the Colts used 2009 to show that they could win games in all sorts of ways, through all types of adversity.

Jim Harbaugh Leads the Colts to an Unlikely AFC Championship Game

The four "C's" marked the 1995 Colts. Captain Comeback and the Cardiac Colts made the playoffs as a fifth seed with a middling 9-7 record. The cliche that anything can happen in the playoffs held true in this case. The Colts beat the San Diego Chargers in the Wild Card Round for their first playoff win in 24 years. A seldom-used Zack Crockett stepped up after a Marshall Faulk injury and ran the ball for 147 yards that game.

Then, in the Divisional Round, the Colts faced the No. 1-seeded Kansas City Chiefs. The Colts lucked their way into a 10-7 victory, after Chiefs kicker Lin Elliot missed three field goals.

The horseshoe luck ran out against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Championship game, when a last-second Hail Mary fell through wide receiver Aaron Bailey's hands. This game has been listed among the greatest ever, due to its intrigue and the "what ifs" that haunted the Colts in the aftermath.

The Colts Hire Tony Dungy To Replace Jim Mora Sr. in 2002

Despite some success with Jim Mora, the Colts had never truly gotten it together. They were undisciplined and weak on defense and had very little esprit d'corps. When the Tampa Bay Buccaneers fired Dungy following an early playoff exit in 2001, Jim Irsay and Bill Polian leaped at the chance to secure his services.

The turnaround was immediate. Dungy's Tampa 2 defense proved to be the perfect complement to the high-octane offense already in place, and the Colts went on to have seven superb winning seasons under the affable and soft-spoken Dungy.

Bill Polian's Entrance as Colts President in 1998 Keys Resurgence

When newish Colts owner Jim Irsay hired gruff and irascible Bill Polian in 1997, football insiders knew that the team was getting one of the best minds in the business. Prior to coming on with the Colts, Polian had crafted the perennial Super Bowl contending Buffalo Bills of the early '90s and had built up the expansion Carolina Panthers into a respectable team in short order.

With Polian calling the player and personnel shots, the Colts got better in a hurry. From the decision to take Manning over Leaf in his first year as president, to the draft steals like Robert Mathis and Pierre Garcon, Polian built a juggernaut in Indianapolis with relentless research and uncanny intuition.

Mayflower Trucks Bring the Colts to Indianapolis in the Dead of Night

A list of the best moments in Indianapolis Colts history wouldn't be complete without the dramatic move that actually brought the team to the city. Having lured discontented Colts owner Robert Irsay to Indianapolis with the sparkling, new Hoosier Dome (later named RCA Dome) and promises of incentives, Indiana welcomed its second professional team to the capital city.

The Mayflower moving trucks that were filled with equipment from the Colts' Baltimore facilities during the night only heightened the drama and the hurt in Baltimore. Those scars are still visible when the Colts play the Ravens in Baltimore. The scoreboard says merely "Indy" and the word "Colts" is treated like a pariah.

Drafting Peyton Manning over Ryan Leaf in 1998 Is a Pivotal Decision

What would the Colts look like today if Bill Polian had chosen Ryan Leaf over Peyton Manning with the first pick in the 1998 draft? Would they only now be starting to recover from their poor pick? Would the Colts still even be in Indianapolis?

Colts fans typically don't ponder this nightmare scenario, and with good reason. Peyton Manning has been the lifeblood of the Colts offense and he is poised to continue to do so for at least another five years. Amazingly, in the run-up to the 1998 draft, many pundits thought that Leaf had the bigger upside.

Manning's in-game smarts, fantastic arm and great pocket presence have separated him from all other quarterbacks playing today (with the exception of Tom Brady). Manning gives the Colts an edge, even when everything else seems to be against them.

The Colts Finally Beat the Patriots in the AFC Championship Game

I was on a plane headed for Colorado on January 21, 2007. When I boarded the plane in Indianapolis, I knew that the Colts were already down to the Patriots in the AFC Championship game. The Colts' history against the Patriots was abysmal, and I feared that 2007 would be yet another humbling loss for Manning and the Colts against a superior team.

I spent the flight taking care of my one-year-old daughter and worrying about what was happening in the game. When we landed, I rushed to find a TV in a restaurant at Denver International Airport. To my surprise, the Colts had won!

Although I didn't watch the game in real time, I have since come to treasure it as the most emotionally satisfying Colts win ever. They finally vanquished the hated Patriots and they did it in dramatic, come-from-behind fashion. Peyton Manning shed his reputation as a choker in the playoffs and the defense stepped up to ice the game at the end. The Indy Star headline the next day said it all..."Blue Heaven."

Colts Win Super Bowl XLI Against the Bears

As the Miami rain saturated the field, the Colts harassed Rex Grossman and the Bears behind the hard running of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai and the clutch playmaking of Kelvin Hayden. The 2006 regular season, which had ended so wretchedly with the defense getting diced by Jacksonville Jaguar running backs, had culminated in a Super Bowl victory in Florida.

The win held vindication for Peyton Manning, Tony Dungy and Bill Polian, all of whom had suffered heartbreaking playoff losses throughout their careers.

Colts fans streamed onto the frigid Indianapolis streets in the hours just after the victory, happy to be together celebrating the first-ever football championship in the city. With their appetite for winning whetted, Colts fans have been primed for runs to the Super Bowl each year since. 2011 will be no different.