Indianapolis, IN

Philip Rivers’ starting stint with Colts should make us appreciate him more

Published

1 month ago

December 29, 2025

Philip Rivers’ starting stint with Colts should make us appreciate him more

INDIANAPOLIS — Philip Rivers wasn’t able to change the course of this Colts season.

A promising campaign that seemed lost when Daniel Jones tore his Achilles tendon in Jacksonville effectively ended when the team was eliminated from the playoffs before Rivers led the Colts onto the field against the Jaguars again.

The collapse, the kind that hasn’t been seen in the NFL in thirty years, prompts big questions about the future of the franchise, questions that can only be answered definitively by Carlie Irsay-Gordon in her first year as principal owner.

Those answers will come later.

For the moment, it is OK to appreciate what Rivers brought to Indianapolis, the NFL and the sport at large at the age of 44, even though he wasn’t able to make the Colts’ wildest dreams come true by leading the team to the playoffs.

“If this was the last one … shoot,” Rivers said. “I told you guys I wouldn’t have any regrets about coming back and I don’t. Other than us not winning, right – us not winning. It’s been an absolute blast for three weeks.”

Three starts in December at the age of 44 were not going to change Rivers’ Hall of Fame credentials. Not unless he somehow led the Colts to a Super Bowl, the sort of fairy-tale ending that would have been in production at Disney before the halftime show began in Santa Clara.

But the three starts Rivers made in December gave the NFL world a chance to fully appreciate what made Rivers great, on the field and off, as a representative of the game.

Rivers wasn’t the same player he’d been in 2020.

Far from it. The old shotput motion was still there, but he clearly had less velocity on his throws, leading to misses that Rivers could have made in his sleep the last time he took the field. After a surprising performance against San Francisco on Monday Night, Rivers fell back to Earth on Sunday.

“I thought this was probably the worst game I’ve had of the three,” Rivers said. “Just couldn’t get in really any sync or rhythm.”

The game-changing interception Rivers threw in the fourth quarter brought home his diminished physical ability. Rivers fluttered an out route to slot receiver Josh Downs, leaving plenty of time for Jacksonville cornerback Jarrian Jones to undercut it for a pick.

“I wasn’t fooled by any means,” Rivers said. “It was just a bad throw.”

The throws shouldn’t be the takeaway from these three starts.

Rivers wasn’t fooled. By just about anything. Five seasons after he last started in the NFL, Rivers flew back into Indianapolis on the whim of Shane Steichen and Chris Ballard, stepped back into a quarterback meeting room and immediately knew more than almost anybody else in the league.

In the history of the NFL, for that matter. Only a few quarterbacks have ever been able to process information at the line of scrimmage like Rivers, a 44-year-old who kept shocking the Colts with his ability to see what was coming.

Wide receiver Alec Pierce got a taste in Rivers’ first start. When Pierce looked at Seattle’s defense, he saw the Seahawks in a pressure look the Colts had seen on tape, and he told Rivers the blitz was coming.

Rivers shrugged it off, told Pierce the Seahawks were bluffing.

The 44-year-old was right, just like he was right on Monday night, when San Francisco showed a look that offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter was sure indicated a blitz from the right, leaving him shocked when Rivers shuffled the protection to the left.

Rivers was right again. He’s almost always right, looking across the line at defenses like Keanu Reeves looking into the lines of the matrix.

“It’s really just that he’s probably seen it before, so it’s probably not even a matrix,” Colts running back Jonathan Taylor said. “I’ve seen this a couple years ago, and he’ll probably tell you the exact game, the drive, the actual down it was. So, he’s seen a lot of ball, so it’s not much you can throw at him at all.”

Taylor’s right. Rivers never forgets anything.

What makes him special is that he can access all of that information in a split second. When a coach talks about a quarterback going through his progressions, he’s often talking about a decision the quarterback makes after the snap.

Rivers goes through his progressions before he’s even finished calling the cadence.

That’s how a 44-year-old quarterback with diminished arm strength can complete 63% of his passes over three games, throwing four touchdowns and three interceptions to post an 80.2 quarterback rating, numbers that aren’t impressive for a 30-year-old starting quarterback but take on new meaning for a man who’s been calling plays at the high school level for five years.

“For Philip to come off the couch with a couple days of practice, go into Seattle and take them down to the wire, then come in here, and the past two weeks, I’ve thought he played well,” wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. said. “That just says a lot about him, that he can still go toe-to-toe with some of the best teams at, what is he, 40-something? Phil’s up there.”

Rivers’ genius on the field is something only a handful of quarterbacks have ever been able to replicate.

The quarterback’s love of the game, and the way he approached these three starts in December, is something that can inspire anybody.

Rivers had plenty of reasons to rebuff the Colts, namely the tidal wave of public opinion that started flowing as soon as his decision to fly to Indianapolis became public.

But few people have ever loved anything as much as Rivers loves football, and as he’s said plenty of times since answering the Colts’ call, he wasn’t about to let the negative possibilities of what might happen affect his decision to play, even after Indianapolis was eliminated from the playoffs by Houston’s win on Saturday night.

“The message amongst all of us was like, ‘Hey, we get to play in an NFL football game. We signed up for all of them. They pay you for all of them, and you go out there and play,’” Rivers said. “The thought of meaningless games — which I know that gets thrown around, and it is in the sense of it doesn’t affect the postseason, there’s no impact on the postseason — but to say a game is meaningless is not in my DNA.”

That’s what draws people to sports, why so many keep playing pickup basketball or city-league softball long after their actual playing days or over, or why they start taking golf lessons to get that handicap down into single digits.

Win or lose, Rivers loves playing.

For the sake of playing itself, even though Sunday’s loss to Jacksonville might have been the last NFL game he starts.

“If I’d go back and say, ‘All right, now you know everything that is going to happen. What are you going to do?’ I’d do it all again,” Rivers said. “It’s been absolutely awesome. I mean, if it’s the last one, it’s the last one. … If it is, I got three bonus games that I never saw coming.”

Three games in December that should only make the NFL world appreciate Rivers more.

Joel A. Erickson and Nathan Brown cover the Colts all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Colts Insider newsletter.

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Indianapolis, IN

‘I’m appalled’: Hundreds in Indianapolis protest ICE

Published

3 hours ago

February 1, 2026

Press Room

‘I’m appalled’: Hundreds in Indianapolis protest ICE

Several hundred people rallied against ICE on Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis on Jan. 31 as part of a wave of protests across the nation this weekend.

Many of the protesters expressed anger over the recent fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good by federal agents in Minneapolis, where the Trump administration has deployed a surge of immigration agents as part of a federal crackdown.

Protesters carried anti-ICE signs and chanted “ICE out” as they marched, drawing supportive honks from motorists. The rally was one of several planned across the city, including a smaller gathering near the Governor’s mansion.

Jennifer Yumib, 64, of Indianapolis, said she braved temperatures in the teens because of how strongly she feels.

“I’m appalled by what’s been happening in our country,” she said. “Seeing people torn from their homes without cause. People shot in the streets for trying to help others. This is not what we should be as a country.”

Brooke Verhey, 28, of Indianapolis, attended the rally with her dog, Raine, who wore a “F— Ice” sign. She said she believes ICE’s actions are unconstitutional.

“They are detaining peaceful protesters and trying to take their phones,” she said. “People have a right to record.”

Phil Slates, 75, of Indianapolis, carried a sign saying, “ICE melts under resistance.” He called the immigration enforcement agency’s treatment of people “inhuman.”

“I don’t believe anybody disagrees that we should have legitimate immigration policy,” he said. “The issue is how people are being ripped out of their homes — people who don’t have a criminal record. This is nothing but intimidation.”

The rally was one of many across the nation and followed a vigil the night before at New Liberty Mission Baptist Church for those killed by ICE, which drew an overflow crowd.

Contact IndyStar reporter Tony Cook at 317-444-6081 or tony.cook@indystar.com. Follow him on X@IndyStarTony and Bluesky @tonycook317.bsky.social.

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Indianapolis, IN

Paw Patrol exhibit returns to children’s museum in Indianapolis

Published

15 hours ago

January 31, 2026

Press Room

Paw Patrol exhibit returns to children’s museum in Indianapolis

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) –The Children’s Museum is set to open a brand new Paw Patrol exhibit on Sunday and it’ll remain open until May 25th.

The exhibit is all about connecting kids to their favorite puppy powered heroes.

The exhibit was at the museum back in 2019 and after traveling around the country, it is back inside the museum.

Kids will be able to meet their favorite pups! Kid-size sculptures of Marshall, Chase, Skye, Rubble, Everest, Rocky, Zuma, and Tracker are found throughout the exhibit. It also features multiple areas including the Lookout Tower, Adventure Bay, Porter’s Cafe and also Jake’s Mountain.

“The exhibit is all about learning about teamwork, problem solving, and overcoming obstacles and while they’re doing the fun interactive they’re working on their social, emotional and cognitive gross motor skills,” said Sarah Myers, Director of Traveling Exhibits, Children’s Museum of Indianapolis

Myers said her favorite part of the exhibit is when the kids get to meet their favorite Paw Patrol hero.

“It’s great to see the little kids get to meet their characters for the first time in 3D,” said Myers.

For more information on this exhibit, visit here.

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Indianapolis, IN

A Facebook post alleges BRICS supports ICE. The owners want to clear that up

Published

1 day ago

January 31, 2026

Press Room

A Facebook post alleges BRICS supports ICE. The owners want to clear that up

A post from a spouse of a co-owner of BRICS went viral in Indy groups this week, leading many to call to boycott the shop.
The Broad Ripple business quickly distanced itself from the pro-ICE views but stopped short of posting their own stance.
Now, the owners are working through the aftermath.

A Broad Ripple ice cream shop found itself under fire on social media this week after one its owners posted in support of Immigration Customs and Enforcement, prompting many to pledge to stop supporting the business.

The social media ordeal in which the store BRICS found itself raises the question of whether small businesses should publicly take sides on political and civil issues and how much a business owner’s politics should dictate whether one supports the business or not.

In a lengthy interview Jan. 30 with the IndyStar, the BRICS owners said the post on the personal Facebook page of the spouse of a minority owner did not represent the sentiment of BRICS ownership. However, they say, they will not release a statement against ICE, either, preferring to remain political neutral to operate as a safe third space for people on all sides of the debate.

“We feel very differently from what was posted,” said David Vonnegut-Gabovitch, the majority owner of BRICS. “But our concern was that if our statement says we feel totally the opposite, then everybody on the other side starts going the other way.”

That was not enough for Jen Colson Estes, a Meridian-Kessler resident, who first called out the shop on social media for a Facebook post she saw made by Jenny DuBow, spouse of BRICS co-owner David DuBow. As ICE enforcement in the country has ramped up, Colson Estes posted on her personal Facebook page that she would not visit the ice cream shop because of the post.

“She has the right to post it, and we have the right to never go there again,” Colson Estes told IndyStar.

Soon after Colson Estes’s initial post on Jan. 29, it went viral on Indianapolis social media, circulating in north side, Midtown and food-focused Facebook groups. Jenny DuBow’s profile has since been made private, but screenshots on Facebook and confirmed by BRICS ownership show she reposted an “I Stand With ICE” image.

BRICS released a statement on Facebook on Jan. 30, saying that the statement did not reflect the store’s beliefs.

“We regret that posts made on a personal social media account and circulated have been attributed to our business – this is not us!” the statement read.

Vonnegut-Gabovitch, Kirstie Hileman and David DuBow co-own BRICS, which has operated along the Monon Trail in Broad Ripple for 15 years. Vonnegut-Gabovitch holds the majority stake in the company, 70%, with Hileman and DuBow having a minority stake of 20% and 10%, respectively. The three run the day-to-day operations of the company, they told IndyStar.

Yet, the names of their spouses, Jennifer DuBow and Nonie Vonnegut-Gabovitch, appear on BRICS’ website. The two are not involved in the store’s operation of the store and cannot speak for it, the three principals say.

The statement did little to calm the flames. In an interview with IndyStar, Hileman said BRICS fielded about 15 phone calls on Friday and several more the day before as the post spread. David DuBow was not present at the interview but Vonnegut-Gabovitch and Hileman said they were speaking for him as well.

The owners said they made a conscious decision not to simply write a statement decrying ICE.

“It would have likely been easier for us to just make an apology and make a political statement, but we don’t think that’s the best way,” Hileman said. “If we’re removing businesses’ right to remain neutral and be a third safe space, how is it that our public will ever be able to have safe discourse?”

That said, they are making a concerted effort to tell longtime customers and community partners that their individual views in no way align with the controversial post. Hileman and Vonnegut-Gabovitch said in an interview with IndyStar that the views of the three owners, including David DuBow, are “wildly different” than the views expressed in the post.

“It’s not something any of us were involved in, not something any of us believe, but we do respect her First Amendment right,” Vonnegut-Gabovitch said. “She has a right to her views, and I believe we couldn’t change that.”

The flap started a day before thousands of businesses across the country closed their doors in a nationwide protest of ICE sparked by agents’ fatal shooting of two U.S. citizens, 37-year-olds Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, in Minneapolis earlier this month.

Several Indianapolis businesses around town posted they would participate while others announced they would donate to causes that support undocumented immigrants.

Instead of taking to social media to take a side on ICE, the BRICS owners are encouraging people to visit the shop and have face-to-face conversations with the owners and with one another. On the afternoon of Jan. 30, the shop was quiet, with a few adults and children spread out eating ice cream.

“We want to bring it down at least for us, at least within our four walls, on our social media, bring that temperature down and move on and serve ice cream,” Vonnegut-Gabovitch said.

Alysa Guffey writes business, health and development stories for IndyStar. Have a story tip? Contact her at amguffey@usatodayco.com or on X: @AlysaGuffeyNews.

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