INDIANAPOLIS -- One of the most instructive moments in Carlie Irsay-Gordon's life came before she was old enough to perform long division.
She was in the third grade, but the girl who would grow up to become principal owner of the Indianapolis Colts learned then about the realities of leading a major sports franchise.
A classmate she considered her best friend was in the school restroom criticizing Colts leadership for the team's consistent lack of success at the time. Irsay-Gordon was in a nearby stall, within earshot of it all.
"If you're old enough to remember, the '80s were not so great around here," Irsay-Gordon said, referencing a period when her grandfather, Bob Irsay, was the team's owner and her father, Jim Irsay, was its general manager. The Colts had just two winning seasons between 1980 and 1989.
"I was in third grade," she continued. "It was probably 1987. And I'll never forget it... I thought she was my best friend. I hear her talking to this other girl. And this other girl was saying, 'The Irsays should just get the hell out of here. What are they even doing? My dad says they're losers.' And [my friend] was like, 'Yeah, maybe they are.'
"And I just remember thinking, 'Oh my gosh.' This was my best friend!"
It was Irsay-Gordon's earliest memory of being on the wrong end of fan sentiment. In the decades since, that lesson has been reinforced in myriad ways:
On talk radio, where fans bemoan the Colts' lack of a playoff berth for the past five seasons. On social media, where every word is analyzed and critiqued. And in media coverage, as she is now the person who ultimately must answer for successes and failures after taking over as principal owner last year. Learning to absorb sometimes harsh assessments has been a lifelong lesson for Irsay-Gordon. And it all began on that day back in third grade. When her father came home late that evening, Irsay-Gordon had some difficult questions for him.
"I said, 'Why do we suck so much?'" she recalled. "'People are getting mad, and they're saying all these mean things about you and Grandpa.'"
As Carlie Irsay-Gordon continues to emerge from her father's shadow, he's proven ready to handle the various aspects of the job. USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images Her dad, who died one year ago this week, looked at her and offered two hard truths. First, he said that her friend probably wasn't a real friend after all. Then, he said of criticism generally, "It's just part of the job."