To this older Colt fan SB 41 was great but it finihes third behind our first NFL championship win over the Giants and our first SB win over the Cowboys. Another favorite is the Holloween game where we stuffed the Broncos (don’t recall the year)… it was a nice break from the misery we experienced during the Colts’ long residency in football purgatory.

If I had to list my own personal list of most memorable Colts games, this is what it would look like. Keep in mind, this is my personal list, so it may not include games you find more memorable.

1. 2007 AFC Championship vs. New England

I’m right there with most of you in the sense that this game was almost like winning the Super Bowl. First off, there’s nothing quite like getting the monkey off of your back. When Steve Young finally won a Super Bowl on his own and stepped out of the shadow of the great Joe Montana, I cannot even begin to imagine what kind of emotions ran through his body. Similarly, Peyton must have felt like he had excorcised some big demons when the Colts vanquished the Patriots in the RCA Dome. Years of losing to them both at home and on the road, in both the regular and postseason, now forgotten and forgiven in one unforgettable game. What a comeback, what a gutsy performance, what an interception from Marlin Jackson. I too wept that day. It was only the second time in my life I wept after a Colts game. The first time I’ll talk about later in the list.

2. Super Bowl XLI

Without a victory in Super Bowl XLI, the 2007 AFC Title Game victory would certainly have been in vein.

"I’m just so happy for our team and for all of our fans and we have one more mission – one more mission in Miami. We’re not done yet." – Jim Irsay

No doubt, the victory over the Bears during a torrential downpour in Miami proved to the world that Peyton could win the big game, the Colts could dominate outside of the friendly confines of the Dome and the Colts were anything but a soft team. Tough running from running back Dominic Rhodes and a swarming defense led by safety Bob Sanders took the pressure off of Peyton’s shoulders and allowed the Colts to win as a complete team.

3. October 6, 2003 @ Tampa Bay on Monday Night Football

It’s a day I’ll never live down. When Keenan McCardell scooped up a Mike Doss fumble and ran it 57 yards for a Tampa touchdown, just after Doss had picked off Bucs quarterback Brad Johnson, I literally gave up. It was the only time I my life I had ever thrown in the towel during a Colts game. After all, this was the Bucs defense. How on earth were the Colts going to comeback from such a devastating blow against the Super Bowl Champs on the road? Those friends of mine that witnessed my pessimism that evening are fond of bringing up that evening because it taught me a great lesson about the Colts: they’re never down and out until the clock reaches zero.

As enjoyable as the comeback was, it was the players involved that also made it so priceless. While stars like Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison certainly played a pivotal role in the comeback, it took some big plays from some little-known players to get things rolling. Brad Pyatt’s tremendous kick return, touchdowns from Ricky Williams and James Mungro, Idress Bashir’s onside kick recovery and a shaky kick from Mike Vanderjagt helped put the Colts over the top for the big comeback victory in Tampa.

4. October 31, 1988 vs. Denver on Monday Night Football

I was just 11 years old and it was the very first time I didn’t go out to trick-or-treat for Halloween. My parents were completely stunned. However, being a Colts fan living in California in the days long before NFL Sunday Ticket, any chance to see the Colts on television was a rare opportunity I just couldn’t pass up. The Hoosier Dome was filled with rabid fans wearing black and white masks of MNF announcers Al Michaels, Frank Gifford and Dan Dierdorf. The game was full of Eric Dickerson touchdowns – four to be exact. Before the Broncos could muster a single score, the Colts pinned 31 points on the Denver defense en route to a 55-23 lashing. Needless to say, it was the most memorable Halloween of my young life and it didn’t even involve a sugar high.

5. 1996 AFC Championship @ Pittsburgh:

Though most top ten lists will include good memories, there’s simply no way I could disclude this game. 1995 was the most memorable season I had experienced as a Colts die-hard since I became a fan in 1986. Captain Comeback Jim Harbaugh had led Indy to so many great victories when the chips were down, but this was one game he couldn’t quite pull off. God knows the Colts had their chances to seal the game, none bigger than when linebacker Quentin Coryatt dropped a would-be pick six that likely would have sent Indy to the Super Bowl. So many close calls that weren’t taken advantage of did the Colts in after a postseason for the ages that included tough road victories over the San Diego Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs. No close call was more devastating than when Jim Harbaugh heaved a Hail Mary into a cluster of Colts receivers and Steeler defenders. The rainbow pass fell from the heavens, off a defenders hands and into the breadbasket of fallen Colts rookie wideout Aaron Bailey. Just as Bailey hit the deck, the ball rolled off of his stomach and onto the turf. Fellow Colts wideout Brian Stablein did his best to celebrate what he thought was the Colts greatest comeback yet, but a nearby zebra waved off the touchdown, singaling the end of the Cinderella Colts. Sean Dawkins wept after the game ended. I wept after the game ended. And wept. And wept. And wept.