As the Colts re-convened at the Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center on Labor Day to begin preparing for Week 1, Owner and CEO Carlie Irsay-Gordon spoke to the entire team about the legacy her late father, Jim Irsay, left.
The Colts' totem this year – their sort of annual mantra that runs as an undercurrent to the season – is "Win For Jim." Irsay-Gordon spoke about what her father meant and what he stood for during his remarkable life.
After Irsay-Gordon finished speaking, head coach Shane Steichen interjected.
"Hey," Steichen said, "we got one more thing to honor your dad this season."
Steichen pulled out a blue guitar. On it: The Colts' horseshoe logo and three words.
Win For Jim.
Steichen will present the guitar to a player of his choosing at every Saturday night team meeting during the 2025 season, and that player will have the honor of bringing the guitar into whatever stadium in which the Colts are playing the next day. For Week 1, Steichen bestowed the guitar upon defensive tackle and longtime team captain DeForest Buckner.
After Irsay passed away in May, Steichen thought about how to continuously honor the former Colts Owner and CEO during the upcoming season. Steichen's mind went to the meetings he had in Irsay's office, which was adorned with a handful of famous guitars from rock n' roll history. He thought about how much Irsay loved music.
And he thought about how a fitting way to honor a man that meant so much not only to him, but to the Colts and the city of Indianapolis, would be through a custom guitar.
Steichen worked with Dr. Mark French, a professor at the Purdue University Guitar Lab to design the guitar, which was built by a Purdue alum, Noah Scott. The guitar is fully functional – it's strung and tuned – and with help from Lafayette-based Freckles Graphics and Prime Auto Body, it's built to last.
Once a player walks in with the guitar, he'll bring it to a stand in the Colts' locker room and place it there. It'll be on display for every player, coach and staffer to see – another reminder of what the Colts' 2025 season is about.
Win For Jim.
"Even though he's not physically with us anymore, he's always with us in spirit," Steichen said. "And that's part of him traveling with us, every game."
