I’m not a crier. I rarely cry over anything. This morning, as I watched Jim Irsay announce the end of Peyton Manning’s career as an Indianapolis Colt, I couldn’t help but tear up. I’m not sure when exactly I became a Colts fan. Growing up, I always idolized one of my uncles and took up his love of Sports and all his sports teams. For a while I was a huge Yankees and Cowboys fan. As I got older, I got more into football and started playing fantasy football online. Once I started watching games on my own and keeping track of stats, one outstanding quarterback stood out.

I got a lot of crap for being a Yankees fan. There’s something about the organization that rubs people the wrong way. As I started to formulate my own fandom, the integrity of the players and of the team became extremely important to me. I wanted to root for a team that stood for something. I wanted to root for a team that had not only talent but passion and grace.

Very quickly, I went from arguing with people about Marvin Harrison and Peyton Manning being the best wide receiver / quarterback team to ever play in the National Football League to becoming a die hard Colts fan. Peyton Manning was not only pumping my fantasy football teams with wins but he was just amazing to watch play. And not only that, but Peyton Manning was good off the field.

So I might’ve been a blubbering, depressed, drunken idiot after the Colts lost the Super Bowl in 2009.

I fully expect I’ll look the same tonight.

Peyton Manning made the Colts franchise what it is today (don’t believe me, take a look). If you look at what he did with Austin Collie and Pierre Garcon, you could probably make a highlight reel of Colts receivers for the 2011 season because even though their offense struggled without Manning, he made them that good. He made me proud to be a Colt. I don’t feel like a Colt without him.

Will Manning play again? Will I follow him to his new team if he does? Will I find my love for the Colts in a Manning-less era? I don’t know. But it sure was good while it lasted.