NFL

“I threw a touchdown pass to Marvin Harrison, and I thought in my head, ‘I think we can throw the ball to Marvin Harrison,'” says Manning. “‘It’s a pretty good idea because good things can happen.’ That’s pretty much what happened every time I threw to him all for those years—good things.”

“It was a scene for No. 12,” Mathis says of one play by Andrew Luck. “He matured.” Luck is more modest: “That was a very fortunate bounce. We really don’t want that to happen again.”

In IM’s September tribute to three decades of Indianapolis Colts football, Robert Mathis—the team’s longest-tenured defensive player—picked his top three comebacks. But he went even deeper in the interview. Read on to find out what else the sack master likes to reminisce about.

Talk about a Hail Mary. In 1982, city leaders built an NFL stadium without a team.

“Players will run through a brick wall for this guy.”

His nine-year tenure with the Colts was historic—and let’s not forget his cameo appearance on TV’s ‘Criminal Minds’ as a cub detective.

In another game of note, the Colts will visit the Dallas Cowboys’ Death Star—err, AT&T Stadium—for the first time ever on December 21, one of three away games that month.

The arrival of the Colts has brought to an end the all-too-familiar question, “Where’s the beef?” In its place is the all-important question, “Where are the tickets?”

From @meggiehd: “OMG! I just saw Arya from Game of Thrones at circle centre!!! We made eye contact. We are obviously besties”

Don’t feel bad for him, as—like any good, swift safety—he deftly turned and signed with the 49ers for $23 million. It was as if he sang “Don’t cry for me, Indianapolis” about the matter on Twitter.

Plus, a photo of Colts-themed mustache growth that might make the neckbeard adorned Andrew Luck take to Tebowing.

Colts fans won’t have to go through the emotionally stunting experience of having to spend weekdays with Meg Irsay and weekends and holidays with Jim. (Even so, we bet holidays with Jim are never dull.)

The Colts punter can add “professional family-reuniter” to his resume after Sunday’s Veterans Day ceremony at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Luck’s fourth-quarter and overtime comebacks since last year make for the the most by a quarterback in his first two seasons in NFL history.

Accompanied by video clips, this list of hits highlights not only the super-human forces involved in football, but also the importance of the research that Purdue University scientists are now conducting.