INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -It was enough to make even the toughest NFL players giddy.
The blue horseshoe. The Lombardi Trophy in the middle of the Colts’ logo. Even a red ruby to represent the figurative blood shed by the Colts over the course of the season. And, of course, the Super Bowl rings were all handed out Wednesday night on, what else, a silver platter.
“I know they normally say that diamonds are a woman’s best friend, but tonight, they’re a man’s best friend, too,” Pro Bowl receiver Reggie Wayne said.
The response to the shiny, new $5,000 rings was unanimous.
Three-time Pro Bowl defensive end Dwight Freeney said the design, courtesy of team owner Jim Irsay and his wife, was precisely what he envisioned.
But it was the private ceremony at a downtown theater’s ballroom, with the Colts’ entire Super Bowl roster except defensive tackle Montae Reagor, that made it so emotional.
“I might sleep with it tonight,” said Freeney, one of the NFL’s most-feared pass rushers. “I think today is the first day it really hits. Now it hits home and tomorrow is a new day. So it’s time to get another one.”
Players names are etched on one side of the ring, with last season’s motto “Our Time” and the word “faith” etched into the other side.
Irsay said he wanted the word “faith” because it represented the religious feelings of the team and the tragedies the Colts overcame, such as the suicide of Tony Dungy’s son and the traffic accident that killed Reggie Wayne’s older brother.
Missing from the ring were the diamonds that teams typically use to symbolize the number of championships won by the franchise.
In the Colts case that would be two, counting their 1970 victory when the team was still in Baltimore. Irsay opted against that for two reasons.
“We look at it as being the first one for the Indianapolis Colts,” Irsay said. “And there was no need to bring up any friction.”
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