While Baltimore was angry over the Colts midnight move, fans in Indianapolis were there to great the arriving Mayflower trucks with cheers. The Colts would sell 143,000 season tickets in just the first two weeks of ticket sales.

On September 2nd the Colts played their first game at the Hoosier Dome against the New York Jets. However, Colts fans would go home disappointed as the Jets won 23-14.

Losing would be a habit for the Colts in their first season in Indianapolis, as Frank Kush was fired before the final game of the season as the Colts sat at 4-11. The Colts would lose their final game of the season with Hal Hunter performing the coaching duties to finish with a disappointing 4-12 record.