Super Injustice?

OK, this is about sports---but it’s more about fairness, so if the thought of reading a football blog in the week leading up to the Super Bowl makes you glaze over, give this one a chance.

My thanks to faithful blog reader Rick Johnson, who suggested this topic---one near and dear to his heart as a lifelong fan of Baltimore teams—and a sports fanatic and walking encyclopedia on sports in general.

In a nutshell, the situation---and the cause:

After a rocky relationship between then BALTIMORE Colts owner Robert Irsay and the City of Baltimore, Irsay literally moved the team to Indianapolis in the middle of the night on March 28,1984. To fans in Baltimore, this continues to be a day that lives in infamy.

Needless to say, The Indianapolis Colts—now under the ownership of Robert Irsay’s son Jim—has been quite successful, having already won one Super Bowl and poised to take another championship this Sunday.

In the meantime, Baltimore has a new football team, The Ravens---who used to be the Cleveland Browns. This team has also won a Super Bowl and was in contention in the playoffs this year (as New England Patriots fans are all too well aware of)

So, what’s the issue?

Well, for fans of the BALTIMORE Colts, there is a sense of discontent over the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s exhibit in Canton. Namely, the history of the Baltimore Colts in essentially buried within the INDIANAPOLIS Colts display. The HOF has turned a deaf ear to efforts to right this wrong.

While this news may be greeted with a resounding “So What?”, you may change your thinking after viewing this video:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYRIrRe_65Q


So, it seems only fair to give Baltimore its due at the Hall of Fame, separate from the exhibit that honors the Indianapolis Colts.

If you are so inclined, there are a couple of websites that Rick has forwarded where you can sign a petition to make the distinction. Although I personally don’t “have a horse in this race” being a lifelong Redskin fan (that’s ANOTHER story), I will add my name to the petition list out of sense of fairness for the legacy that Baltimore players left to their city.

This in no way diminishes the heritage (however young) of the INDIANAPOLIS Colts, who have their own proud-albeit short history. It’s more of a nod to the history that the original Colts brought to football.

Of course, all of this would have been unnecessary if the Indianapolis team had simply chosen another name. After all, the Colts themselves USED to be the Dallas Texans before they were moved to Baltimore in 1953—and “Texans” is a name that has been resurrected in the Lone Star State. When Art Modell moved the Browns to Baltimore in 1996, the “Browns” name and logo (or lack of one) remained in Cleveland to be used by the future owner of the Cleveland franchise.

Perhaps the NFL should REQUIRE a name change when teams exit a city in order to prevent this confusion. I still think of St. Louis, not Arizona when I hear the nickname “Cardinals”—regardless of the baseball/football duplication. The nickname resides in the town where it originates-independent of the sport. Do a word association with anyone from New York and “Brooklyn” will beat out “Los Angeles” when they hear the word “Dodgers”. Every time.

Until the day the NFL chooses to make this happen, we’ll have to focus on the Hall of Fame to do what’s right for the men who are part of the Baltimore Colts history. Thanks to Rick, here are a couple of websites to visit—including the sign-in petition site:

http://ravens24x7.blogspot.com/2010/01/restoring-baltimores-football-heritage.html

http://www.coltsheritage.com/

As for the Super Bowl this Sunday? I have a lot of respect for the son of despised Baltimore Colts owner Robert Irsay. Jim Irsay has done a magnificent job-and runs a class operation. However, I have to root for the New Orleans Saints this weekend. Combine the fact that this is their FIRST trip to the championship game (no matter how many times the City of New Orleans has hosted a Super Bowl) with the entire specter of Hurricane Katrina and what this team has meant to this city.

I have to join the masses in rooting for the sentimental favorite.

Go Saints! (I’ll bet that most of Baltimore feels this way too)

If you’d like my blog in your weekday box, just let me know: tim.moore@citcomm.com