Honoring a Legacy: Manning, Dungy, and Other Colts Stars Pay Tribute to Jim Irsay

Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning took the podium at the 50-yard line of Lucas Oil Stadium, surrounded by Colts legends Edgerrin James, Reggie Wayne, and Dallas Clark. They gathered to remember and celebrate the team's late owner Jim Irsay.

"Jim, we love you. We miss you."

Irsay, who helped bring the Colts to Indianapolis from Baltimore with his father, died in May. On Sunday's season opener against the Miami Dolphins, the Colts honored his lasting legacy by inducting him into Indy's Ring of Honor.

"He loved the Colts – the Horseshoe – and that was the kind of owner every player dreams of playing for," Manning said in his halftime speech. "There was no place Jim Irsay belongs more than right here in the Colts Ring of Honor."

The day started with thousands of blue shirts bearing Irsay's likeness, and the words "For The Boss." Each fan in attendance went home with one, and a season opening win from the Colts – the first since 2012.

"I think it means everything, and what I mean by that is honoring a man that did so much for this community and this organization," Colts head coach Shane Steichen said. "Obviously, he's not with us physically, but he's definitely with us spiritually everywhere we go. To win like we did today with him watching down on us was awesome."

The longtime Colts playmakers all felt the extra significance of Sunday's season opener.

"We're playing for a bigger purpose, and everybody feels that, and I think it showed today," receiver Michael Pittman, Jr. said.

"It's very powerful," defensive tackle DeForest Buckner said. "Mr. Irsay was a special man, and we dedicate this season to him and everywhere it's win for Jim. The guys, we take that personally."

Super Bowl-winning head coach Tony Dungy also celebrated Irsay's legacy.

"Jim was so much about family," Dungy said exclusively on Countdown to Kickoff Sunday morning. "I've got a 19-year-old son that's a sophomore at Butler now. He was born during the Super Bowl year, and we adopted him… He told me, 'Dad, you have to get me a ticket. I have to be there because if Mr. Irsay hadn't had faith in you, I wouldn't be in this Dungy family.' And that's Jim Irsay to me in a nutshell."

The celebration was for the entire Colts family, including Irsay's three daughters, who were honored with game balls after the team won their first season opener in 12 years.

“(Irsay) raising those three daughters and doing it the right way, setting them up for a moment to take over this team, and I thought it was really special and really fitting for them being full-time owners now to get a game ball," Steichen said.

“(Irsay's) done a great job raising them to put them in a position to continue the legacy, continue his childhood dream,” Colts cornerback Kenny Moore II said. "It's outstanding for me to see because I'm a person that values legacy and what you represent and what you leave behind. He's done one hell of a job doing that."

A legacy that will live on for generations to come.