"We've changed our model a little bit, because we wanted more than one of these," Irsay says, flicking up his right hand to show his Super Bowl XLI championship ring.
"(Tom) Brady never had consistent numbers, but he has three of these," Irsay adds. "Pitt*****urgh had two, the Giants had two, Baltimore had two and we had one. That leaves you frustrated.
"You make the playoffs 11 times, and you're out in the first round seven out of 11 times. You love to have the Star Wars numbers from Peyton and Marvin (Harrison) and Reggie (Wayne). Mostly, you love this."
Then Irsay flicks up his right hand again.
Make no mistake. Irsay truly appreciates how Manning put his franchise back on the map, triggering a run of success — Indy won at least 12 games in seven consecutive seasons — that even contributed to the plush new stadium that has already hosted one Super Bowl and is in the running for another.
Yet Irsay sounds like he's hurt to have just the one ring.
