Saturday, January 27, 2007 12:19 AM CST
Former area residents see AFC title game
By MIKE MONAHAN, Staff Writer
mmonahan@jg-tc.com
The Indianapolis Colts made football history by winning their first American Football Conference title last Sunday, 38-34 at RCA Dome in front of 57,433 fans.
Two of the fans, who witnessed the first AFC championship game at the RCA Dome and the greatest comeback in NFC or AFC championship game history, were Joy and Andy Manna. Manna is a 1992 graduate of Arcola, while Joy (Yoder) is a 1993 graduate of Arthur. The two witnessed the highest-scoring AFC championship game since the Miami Dolphins beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 45-28 in 1985.
“It was an awesome game,” said Andy Manna. “After the game everyone stayed in their seats and didn’t want to leave. The cheering continued an hour after it was over with the players running up and down the field. It was one of the highlight sporting events in my life by far. Scalpers were asking three and four times the face value. It was nice to be there and enjoy it in person.”
Indianapolis has been in two other AFC championship games: losing to Pittsburgh 20-16 in 1996 (1995 season) and just three years ago the Patriots beat the Colts 24-14 at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass. New England, winners of three of the last five Super Bowls, had never lost an AFC championship game, going 5-0.
The Mannas have had season tickets for four years and have lived in Indianapolis for the past five.
“Even though we both grew up in Illinois as Chicago Bear fans (Manna admitted to having a copy of the Super Bowl shuffle in his attic), it was our desire to become part of the Indianapolis sports community, so we adopted the Colts,” said Manna.
Indianapolis, home of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, has not had a championship since the Indiana Pacers won an ABA (now-defunct American Basketball Association) title in 1973. The Colts franchise has won a Super Bowl (Super Bowl V 16-13 over Dallas), but that was before the team moved from Baltimore on a snowy night on March 24, 1983.
“We tailgated outside and then went inside an hour and a half before game time,” said Manna. “Everyone was decked out in Colt blue and it was half full. Peyton Manning had requested everyone to wear their Colts blue and encouraged everyone not to sell their tickets.”
Of course there were some Patriot fans there, including ones who parked next to the Mannas. Their tickets were in the lower part of the upper deck and in the end zone, even with the out-of-bounds sideline.
As the two watched the warm-ups, Joy said she was getting choked up about the game.
“I told her now you finally get to see what it was like growing up in Arcola during the late 1980s and ’90s,” said Manna, who was on the Class 1A state championship team in 1988 and runner-up team in 1991 and on teams that went 46-6, while Arthur was 9-26 during the same four years. Of course now Arthur has a playoff tradition, having turned the program around in the 2000s (after making the playoffs in 1995 and 1999).
New England led 7-3 after the first quarter and in a matter of just 53 seconds expanded the lead to 21-3 with nine minutes, 25 seconds left in the half. New England’s Asante Samuel had a 39-yard interception return shortly after Corey Dillon scored on a six-yard run.
“Obviously the first half was a little concerning,” said Manna. “We kind of observed Tom Brady (New England quarterback and two-time Super Bowl MVP) pick his way around the defense and doing what he wanted in the first half. Obviously if Brady would have continued like his first half, in the second half we would have been in for a romp. Luckily Adam Vinatieri (former New England kicker) made a field goal (26-yarder) with seven seconds left and that gave us some hope. The interception was difficult to watch. At that point I told my wife that it would be extremely difficult to come back if Tom Brady continued to play like he was. As most games are at the RCA Dome, it was very, very loud, especially this game. There were a few people wearing ear plugs. I told Joy if the Colts could come back it would be quite the feat.”
During the summer the Mannas got the chance to visit the Colts training camp at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute. Manna got to talk to Indianapolis coach Tony Dungy.
“He was very nice,” said Manna. “He has been very focused from training camp throughout the season. He has a mantra of ‘Do what we do’ before each game. My wife took part in a football for women (Women 201) at training camp and Bryan Fletcher (6-5, 230-pound tight end) was one of her coaches and he made a big catch on the final drive (32-yard pass on second and 10 from the Colts 31).”
Manning, who is in his ninth year after a stellar career at Tennessee, where he was a four-year starter and set 33 school records, began the comeback in the second half.
It started with a 14-play, 76-yard drive that culminated with a one-yard run by Manning, the 2004 NFL Most Valuable Player. Tackle Dan Klecko became the second lineman to score in the game (New England’s Logan Mankins recovered a fumble in the end zone for the first touchdown of the game), catching a one-yard pass from Manning. Marvin Harrison caught the two-point conversion pass from Manning and the game was even at 21 with 2:50 left to play in the third.
“The third quarter was an absolute blur,” said Manna. “After catching up there were some tense moments. The play where Reche Caldwell was left wide open by the Colts and that was frustrating, but fortunately Tom Brady didn’t see him and Caldwell ended up dropping it after Brady threw too late to him. The fourth quarter was just a slugfest between Manning and Brady. Both were driving down the field and putting the ball where they wanted to.”
Manning and the Colts had also lost to the Patriots 20-3 in the 2004 season in the divisional playoffs and it was Manning’s seventh straight loss to the Patriots in Foxboro.
“If this game had been in New England with a wintry mix of weather then the Colts might have had a difficult time,” said Manna. “This season was meant to belong to the Colts and it was really nice to have it in Indianapolis.”
The final quarter began with another lineman touchdown as Jeff Saturday recovered a fumble in the end zone for the Colts and Vinatieri’s point after tied the game at 28 with 13:24 left. The two teams traded field goals as Vinatieri booted a 36-yarder with 5:31 left to tie the game for the third and final time.
“We stuck around in the second half hoping Peyton (Manning) would get his offensive going and the defense would show up like it did against the (Kansas City) Chiefs and (Baltimore Ravens). (The Colts held the Chiefs to eight points in a 23-8 win and the Ravens to just six pints in a 15-6 victory, both in the playoffs). During the last couple of minutes and after Brady got the ball back with a minute left, I was pacing up and down the stairs and grabbing the guy in front of me and yelling and screaming.”
New England again regained the lead, this time on a Stephen Gostkoski 43-yard field goal with 3:49 left.
The Colts had one final chance with 2:17 left when Manning worked his magic. Manning completed three of four passes, including a 32-yard pass to Fletcher. A roughing the passer penalty on the Patriots also helped the drive reach the Patriot 11. On the third handoff, rookie running back Joseph Addai raced in from three yards out and the Vinatieri extra point gave Indianapolis its first lead of the game, 38-34. The victory was sealed when Marlin Jackson intercepted a Brady pass with 16 seconds left, setting off a huge celebration, one the Indianapolis had been waiting for.
“The crowd really helped in the second half,” said Manna. “We were completely silent when Manning was in the no-huddle offense and calling his play, and thunderously loud when Brady called his play. The atmosphere in and around the RCA Dome was electrifying.”
The Manna’s tailgated with Andy’s younger brother Tony and his wife Sheila. Andy, Joy and 13-month old Molly (who has a Colt cheerleading outfit) live three houses from Tony.
Every Friday is Blue Friday in Indianapolis during the season and the Colts host Blue Friday events at various public and local businesses. Joy teaches second grade and her students all dress in blue and have Colt balloons and eat blue Rice Krispie treats and watch the previous week’s game during their free time.
“It is definitely a Blue Nation over here,” said Manna.
The next time the Colts face the Bears (unless they meet in a preseason game or in another Super Bowl) is in 2008 when the Colts are to host the Bears. Indianapolis is also hoping to host the Super Bowl in 2011 and the fact that the Colts are in the Super Bowl in Miami doesn’t hurt the city officials any as they can scout Miami and see how to host a Super Bowl.
“Indiana is divided with Bears and Colts fans,” said Manna. “I would say most of the Colts fans are south of West Lafayette (Purdue University).”
Another highlight for the Mannas was seeing Dungy at the podium in the post-game celebration as blue and white confetti fell down in bunches.
“It was nice to see Dungy up there especially with his son (18-year-old James) passing away last year (Dec. 22, 2005), making for a difficult season for him. He is pretty deserving of the AFC championship.”
Contact Mike Monahan at mmonahan@jg-tc.com or 238-6854.
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 (Submitted to the JG/T-C)
Joy and Andy Manna, two former area residents who now live in Indianapolis, witnessed the AFC championship game last week won by the Colts 38-34 against the New England Patriots at the RCA Dome.
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Angie Miley wrote on Jul 17, 2006 8:05 PM: