Colts may put old war horse out to pasture

For those who follow his exploits closely, Jim Irsay admitting Sunday’s Super Bowl is the end of an era for the team he owns will come as no surprise.

Irsay is the man who inherited the Indianapolis Colts in 1997 after the death of his father and then proceeded to guide them towards a decade of dominance — although admittedly one that only delivered one Super Bowl (five years ago on Saturday) and two AFC titles (that same season and 2009-10).

Throughout most of the last decade, the prospect of the New England Patriots — his team’s major rivals — coming to town was the NFL’s brashest marketing ploy. But this time Tom Brady et al are chasing the big prize and it has nothing to do with the Colts apart from the humble red carpet they must lay out in “The House that Peyton Built”.