Sports Marketing 2.0 | Pat Coyle

Last night the Colts held a gala bash to celebrate the Super Bowl victory and award the Super Bowl rings. (Read the story on Colts.com). All the players and staff were there, and we were treated to an amazing evening. Our new photographer, Chris Hall, snapped these photos:

Jim Irsay and Tony Dungy stole the show

Yesterday was not just a big day for the franchise, it was also Jim Irsay’s birthday. This photo shows Tony Dungy presenting a gift to Jim. The gift is a photo of our entire staff forming a giant horseshoe. We took this photo last week out on our practice field.

It is so fitting that we took time to honor Jim on this night. He has shown incredible faith and perseverance over the past 30 some odd years, and has guided the franchise to the top of the league. He is also the most generous man I’ve ever met. I can’t say enough…but I can say this, THANKS FOR THE RING, JIM. I’M HONORED!

Before we got our rings, we were entertained by Sinbad.

I had to mention Sinbad for a couple of reasons. First of all, he was flat out hilarious. He started out talking about how he remembers Tony Dungy from his prep days in Michigan, where both men grew up. He was ALL OVER our coach for wearing a big afro, and tight 1970’s shorts, etc. Very funny.

I was OK when Sinbad’s focus was on the coach, but then something surprising happened. He turned his attention to my table. First, he went looking for women in the audience who might have something they wanted to fix about their husbands. So he looks at my wife, Amy, and says, “you look like you’ve got something to say…” And when she says that I’m a good husband, he rips into me for being trained / whipped, etc. I can’t describe all that he said, but it felt like he was focuesed on me for about 5 solid minutes (even though it was likely only about 1).

Later in the show he starts picking on another young woman at our table. He wants to talk about her job. She happens to be a Web coordinator (she works for me) and she also happens to be my niiece. So when she can’t explain to Sinbad’s satisfaction what a Web coordinator does, Sinbad asks, “whos’s your boss?” Of course, she points to me…and now he’s back on my case again, asking “what do YOU do?”

Anyway, I got roasted. And what I didn’t know was that the cameras were on me much of that time so every one of the 400 people in the room were zoomed in on my embarassed face as I was getting the business. Afterward, I happened to run into Jim Irsay, Bill Polian, Chris Polian and several others and the first thing they said to me - even before “congratulations” was, “…man, Sinbad was ALL OVER YOU. You really took one for the team!”

It was all in good fun, and after the comedy, we experienced a dramatic ring presentation ceremony and got to see and wear our rings for the first time. There was a ton of buildup around this event here in Indy. It’s amazing to me how interested everyone seems to be in the rings. Lots of people have asked me, “are you getting a ring? did you get the ring yet?” and other similar questions.

Oh, I almost forgot. Before the rings were presented, a 50 voice gospel choir came dancing in and began singing praise to God. This was TOTALLY fitting! Just at the moment we are all handed our expensive hardware, and just as people might be thinking about how talented or accomplished they are, this song reminded (me anyway) that all good and perfect things come from God. He gives us the talent to do our jobs, and I’m so glad He did not get taken for granted at this moment. I needed that reminder and it was sweet.

The coolest thing, I think, was to watch the players. They were giddy. You could see that this was a huge deal for them, and why not? This is the kind of thing that they’ll never forget. When they’re old and bent from years of football, they can wear these rings and tell stories of the Super Bowl to their grandkids, or to the media or whatever. They’re a the top of their sport. It’s a pretty cool place to be…and I’m just happy to be along for the ride and to be part of an organization that is lead by an owner who cares enough to include EVERYONE in the celebration.