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Indianapolis colts The wide and current receiver coach Reggie Wayne pushed tears during the team’s first media availability on Wednesday after the death of the longtime owner Jim Irsay.
It was an emotional moment for Wayne, a six -time bowler pro and a member of the colts’ Super bowl XLI winning the team, while talking about his relationship with Irsay, who died in his sleep last week at 65 years.
File – The owner of the Indianapolis colts, Jim Irsay (L), talks with former player Reggie Wayne before the match against the Buccaneers of Tampa Bay at Lucas Oil Stadium on November 29, 2015 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Joe Robbins / Getty Images)
“It’s like losing a family member. There were times when I felt like [Irsay] Treated as if I were one of his sons even if he didn’t, “Wayne had a smile by talking to journalists.
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“When you lose something like that, it definitely shocks the soul.”
Irsay began his football career as a ball boy when his father bought the team for the first time in 1972 – when the colts have always played Baltimore. He slowly went up the ranks and became the youngest owner of the team at 37 when he took over for his father after his death in 1997.
“He had the biggest heart of the city. I think we all know how much he was attentive, how easy he was with regard to the gift … I think he was definitely the heart of this city,” Wayne continued.
DOSSIBLE – The Large Colts of Indianapolis Reggie Wayne Motion after obtaining a first try against Houston’s Texans during the fourth quarter of an NFL football match in Indianapolis, Indiana, on December 30, 2012. (Reuters / Brent Smith)
Wayne has played all her 14 -year -old career with the colts after being drafted outside the Miami University With the 30th choice in total in 2001. He led the league under the yards in 2007, he was three times all-pro and ranked second in the history of the franchise for most of Marvin Harrison records. He returned to the colts in 2022 as an assistant coach.
Peyton Manning, Pat McAfee, other sports stars cry the owner of the Jim Irsay colts after death at 65 years old
While remembering his time with Irsay, Wayne had trouble explaining the message he shared with the receivers after learning of the death of Irsay.
“I said to the receivers, I said,” Many of you didn’t really know him but he would have done anything for anyone. He would have given the clothes of his back, “he said in tears.
“He cared about his players. He cared about his team. He cared about the city. And it was not only the players, he cared for people in the building. He was this guy. And I told them, I told him directly, you didn’t really know him, but you said that I said to them.” You did work. him.
The wide receiver of the Indianapolis Colts, Reggie Wayne, is preparing for an exercise on Wednesday, June 14, 2023, during the compulsory Minicamp in the Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center in Indianapolis. (Mykal MCELDOWNEY-USA TODAY SPORTS)
Irsay has fought against health and dependence problems in his life. Despite his difficulties, he restored the glory of the franchise and left an eternal impact on the organization.
