Tales from the Indianapolis Colts Sideline: A Collection of the Greatest Colts Stories Ever Told

by Mike Chappell, Phil Richards, Ted Marchibroda (Foreword)

With roots that go back to 1913, the Indianapolis Colts are one of the most storied franchises in the NFL. But the real legacy of achievement began in 1984 when the Colts arrived in Indianapolis after a midnight escape from Baltimore. Almost thirty years later, the Colts have forged a new identity as one of the most dynamic, power-driven teams in football today. Now die-hard Colts fans will relive all the struggles, all the passion, and all the glory of Indianapolis football in this newly revised edition of Tales from the Indianapolis Colts Sideline. Indiana sportswriters Mike Chappell and Phil Richards take readers inside the Colts’ Union Federal Football complex, onto the Lucas Oil Stadium sidelines, and into the huddle, inside the decisions, the strategies, the players, and the personalities that have made the Colts one of the NFL’s most exciting teams.

Genres: Sports, Football

208 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2004

Reviews

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is worth reading for any Colts fan - both to relive notable moments and to learn about some interesting snippets about players. I was gifted this book and enjoyed reading it.

The problem with the book is in the approach. Instead of presenting any kind of coherent narrative, the authors jump around with small snapshot stories. For the chapters about specific players it makes some sense - but for the topical chapters there was no sense of storytelling or chronology.

[Matt Kratz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book! I enjoyed learning about the Colts and their history.

[Kyle McGinty]

When reading this book, it felt more like a documentary that you would watch on television. It explained in very good detail what was going on with each player on the team. In very good detail it explained how they felt, how they played, and what they were doing at that time. It explained how the Colts started with being losers and losing every game until getting Peyton Manning, then they became winners. They go from player to player asking them how they felt when they played the game and how they felt when some of the players won the Super Bowl.
I like that it also had pictures of each player so you knew what they looked like and how good they were. There was also pictures of games that players played in together and showed how much fun they were having in the pictures and how they worked together as a team. They started the book with the bios of players describing on how they got Indy and how they felt about playing for the city and the fans. Then got into the playoff runs and how they got to the Super Bowl. Then described the after years and how Peyton Manning was getting older and how he suffered his neck injury. Which affected how the Colts decided to use him in the years to come.
In my opinion it was an enjoyable book to read if you are a colts fan of course. But if you like reading about the history of the game of football this book is for you as well. It describes how the game has evolved and how it will keep evolving. I liked how they used stats in this and how they used bios in this. A very good book to read!

[John Goebel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok

[Bonnie Ferguson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little dated and no stories on Bill Brooks or Chris Hinton. Mostly on the 98-04 colts and backstories on the usual suspects, but all in all a good read.