Colts set in motion

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By Matt Muncy, June 6, 2009

Many fans arrived hours before the team to stand in line for autographs.

 

Franklin College sold all 5,000 tickets they had for the event and added four additional sets of bleachers around Red Faught Stadium.

 

The Colts arrived shortly after 2 p.m. and exited the buses to thousands of fans awaiting their arrival.

 

The fans crowed the sidelines and the players signed autographs in different groups. Some fans received Manning and quarterback Jim Sorgi’s autograph while others received wide receiver Reggie Wayne and tight end Dallas Clark’s autograph.

 

“The best moment of the day was getting an autograph from running back Chad Simpson,” said Alex Claxton.

 

The practice began with the team stretching, followed by the offense and defense doing individual drills. The punting squad took half of the field to work with the two rookie punters who are vying for Hunter Smith’s old position.

 

As practice went along, the fans were able to watch quarterback Peyton Manning throw passes to Wayne, Anthony Gonzalez, and rookie Austin Collie. The defense worked on their run stopping, which placed the Colts 24th in the league last season.

 

For some fans it was the first time they were able to watch the Colts play in person.

“Well, I had never seen the Colts and I wanted to see Peyton Manning. The most exciting part of the day was watching Manning throw the football,” said Donald Roller, Franklin resident.

 

For residents of Franklin, it was a once in a lifetime experience. For the Colts organization, Saturday’s event served as a chance for them to reach out to their fans.