Indy frets more over Peyton than outcome of Super Bowl

INDIANAPOLIS -- There is an elephant in the room large enough to fill Lucas Oil Stadium.

Yes, the Super Bowl has landed in central Indiana. Yes, indeed, there will be a Manning front and center at quarterback in Sunday's game. But it is Eli of the New York Giants, not Peyton, the one who, of course, everyone here cares about.

There is far more anticipation among Indianapolis football fans about what will happen after the game than what might happen during it. It is anticipation bordering on dread. Peyton Manning, the face of their franchise, may be done here.

It is both complicated and simplistic to tie these ends together. But this city grew up around the Indianapolis Colts and the Colts grew up around Peyton Manning.

No, Indianapolis wasn't exactly a one-stoplight town when the Colts arrived in 1984.

They've raced autos over on the west side for a while now. There has been a pro basketball franchise here for 45 years and legendary St. Elmo's, Indy's pricier version of Mancy's, has been searing steaks for a century. Billions and billions of dollars in public and private investments have made the downtown area one of the nicest and most welcoming in America.

But the argument could be made that Indianapolis didn't become truly cosmopolitan until the NFL came to town via Baltimore in the dark of night and brought the taste of big-time sports and big-time venues -- first the Hoosier Dome and its expansive convention center, later Lucas Oil Stadium, big enough to dwarf parts of the impressive skyline and the site of Sunday's first-ever Super Bowl played here.

Peyton Manning, of course, is the star of stars in Indy. Not to bore you with statistics, but he started every Colts game after being drafted in 1998 through the end of the 2010 season, owns a 141-67 record, has thrown for nearly 55,000 yards and 399 touchdowns, is an 11-time Pro Bowl pick, and was MVP of the Colts' finest moment in the Super Bowl XLI after the 2006 season.

He's considered the most cerebral of quarterbacks, and if he isn't the NFL's best-known and most dominant player, well, he's on a very, very short list.

But he missed this past season with a neck injury that required multiple surgeries that contained serious terms like "cervical infusions" and "nerve regeneration," he will turn 36 in March, and he is due a $28 million bonus that same month if he remains on the roster.

Without him the Colts, who have some major salary-cap issues, won but two games this past season and, thus, own the No. 1 pick in the spring draft of college players. Sitting there for the plucking is Andrew Luck, who may be the most NFL-ready quarterback coming out of Stanford since Peyton Manning came out of Tennessee.

On the basis of health and finances alone it seems unlikely that keeping Manning will be feasible for the Colts. The graceful out would be Manning retiring in the aftermath of the neck issues.

But little about this situation has been graceful thus far. After the past disastrous season, owner Jim Irsay cleaned house, from team president and the indisputable architect of the Colts' success, Bill Polian, to coach Jim Caldwell, an extension of the brilliant Tony Dungy years and a man with whom Manning was extremely tight.

Irsay was consistent in saying that Manning's health and ability to play, not money, would dictate the quarterback's future in Indy. But since Irsay started emptying offices Manning has not hesitated to be critical and Irsay has in turn criticized Manning for being critical, calling him a "politician" who has mounted a public campaign intended to influence Irsay's decision.

The heart of the clash is that one man owns the team, the other owns the city.

For now, there is a truce in place. The two joined in a statement released by the Colts that essentially said the Super Bowl must be the focus this week in Indianapolis and that they would not be commenting further on Colts' business until the NFL and its big top has left town.

Eli Manning, Peyton's younger brother, said Tuesday the situation in part gives him a greater appreciation for having a shot at a second Super Bowl crown in four seasons.

"It's not just because of what Peyton's going through," he said. "If you play this game long enough you realize how precious each season is and how precious these opportunities are. You don't know when a season might be cut short on you."

Or a career.

Eli gives Indy fans a rooting interest. He is a Manning, of course, and the Giants' opponent Sunday is the New England Patriots, a bitter rival since Peyton made the Colts part of the AFC's modern-day elite along with the Pats and Pittsburgh.

Still, the Super Bowl has finally come to Indianapolis and the Colts, as far removed from championship timber as ever, are on the outside looking in.

The big fear among many fans here is that the great Peyton Manning, the football player who in a lot of ways helped make the city what it is today and whose success helped usher the NFL championship game to Indy, will be relegated to the same vantage point within a week or two.

It seems inevitable.

Contact Blade sports columnist Dave Hackenberg at: dhack@theblade.com or 419-724-6398.