Matt Ryan Is 'Humbled And Inspired' By Colts' Banners For Some Reason

By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston

BOSTON (CBS) -- Matt Ryan is an Indianapolis Colt. He's all excited about it. And he wants to let everybody know.

But he's got a funny way of showing it.

The soon-to-be-37-year-old QB will be playing for a team not named the Atlanta Falcons for the first time in his career in the upcoming season, after getting himself traded following Atlanta's pursuit of Deshaun Watson. With his family in tow, Ryan posed for some photos at the Colts' practice facility this week, letting the world know how geared up he is to play for his new team.

"Humbled and inspired by the banners behind me," Ryan wrote in a tweet. "My family and I are so excited for this next chapter of our lives. Thank you @Colts for this opportunity. #ForTheShoe"

The first line is, quite simply, laugh out loud funny.

The Colts' banners have long been a point of ridicule outside of Indianapolis. The Colts have always hung banners for what would be considered by most teams to have been minor accomplishments, a practice which gained a lot of attention following their hanging of a 2014 "AFC Finalist" banner. That banner was a celebration of the Colts making it to the AFC Championship Game, where they casually lost 45-7 and lobbed accusations that their opponent was cheating in the weirdest way possible. It was, by any measure, an embarrassing night for the organization. A banner still hangs in commemoration.

To be clear, the Colts do have one legitimate banner up in the rafters, from their Super Bowl victory in the 2006 season. That's a big one. But the impact of that Super Bowl banner is kind of mitigated when it resides among banners celebrating Wild Card appearances.

This particular comment from Ryan may not interest anybody outside of New England. To be honest, we've got a bit of a weird thing out here. It's important to acknowledge our faults and flaws.

But that doesn't make it any less humorous.

In a way, it may be a match made in heaven. Ryan seems like a delightful human being, and he's a very good quarterback. But his greatest season ever also ended with a blown 28-3 lead in the Super Bowl against the Patriots. That was also the only season in his career in which he's won more than one playoff game, as he's 4-6 overall as a starter in the playoffs. Since Ryan entered the league in 2008, the Colts are 6-8.

But thinking like that is kind of mean. There's no need for such malice in this dark world. Instead, let's wish them the best for the future while simply delighting at the humor found from an experienced quarterback telling us all that he's "humbled and inspired" by a wall of Wild Card and division champion banners. That's just funny.

In:
• Atlanta Falcons
• NFL
• Indianapolis Colts