Banner-worthy

With the recent trade of Bob Sanders, the Colts will need a new face to hang on one of their banners outside of Lucas Oil Stadium. If you're unfamiliar with the outside of the building, the Colts have four banners - one of which is of Sanders - that hang outside year round, with two on each side of the stadium. Peyton Manning, Dwight Freeney, and Reggie Wayne are on the other three.

So, with Sanders gone, who is banner-worthy?

The first candidates that come to mind are Dallas Clark, Gary Brackett, and Robert Mathis. All three have spent their entire careers in Indianapolis, and each of them are impact players. Clark is one of the best tight ends in the league, and his hard-nosed playing style (read: unafraid to take hits) has endeared him to the Colts' faithful. Brackett is the defensive captain and one of the vocal leaders of the team. He's worked his way up from an undrafted and undersized free agent, to one of the best middle linebackers in the league. Mathis is outspoken, he's fiery, and it helps that he's been to three straight Pro Bowls. You can't go wrong with any of those three, but for a darkhorse candidate, what about Johnny Unitas?

Since the Colts refuse to let go of their past in Baltimore, why not hang up a banner of the best player in franchise history? Unitas wanted nothing to do with Indianapolis, and wanted all of what he accomplished in a Colt uniform to stay in Baltimore. But, he's not here anymore. If Jim Irsay really wants to bring the franchise's history in Baltimore and Indianapolis together, this is his chance.

Doesn't this debate reveal the ridiculousness of the Colts holding onto history that isn't theirs? This has nothing to do with the Baltimore fans. They have their own team now. They won their own title in 2000. Broken hearts should've been mended long ago. My argument this entire time has been that the Colts have done enough in Indianapolis for that history to stand on its own. A Super Bowl Championship (XLI), 27 seasons, more games in Indy than were played in Baltimore - it's time to move on.

Nothing about the Baltimore Colts resonates with Indianapolis fans. Unitas isn't to Manning what Starr was to Favre, or what Staubach was to Aikman. Raymond Berry isn't a beloved figure in our city. To Colts fans in Indy, "The Greatest Game Ever Played" is the 2006 AFC Championship Game, not the 1958 NFL Championship.

Give Baltimore back their history, and further establish Indy's own. Or, put Johnny Unitas' face outside of Lucas Oil Stadium. We're only talking about a silly banner, but maybe the conversation about the Colts leaving the past in the past is worth bringing up again.