I know, I know…
People that know me are probably thinking “No this dude isn’t going to sass (shout out to Perry LOL) Peyton Manning right now!”
I wont.
I will give credit for one of the greatest careers we have ever seen.
Some people were saying before Super Bowl 50 that Peyton’s legacy was already intact, win or lose. That’s false because we keep score…of everything. American sports fans are enamored by numbers more than we care to realize. And two Super Bowl wins looks much better than a 1-3 mark in the big game, no matter how you slice it.
Do I think Peyton Manning is the greatest QB ever? No…but that’s not a bad thing. Its kind of hard to designate THE GOAT in a position where there are so many other-worldly talents that have played the game at its highest level. Unless its a clear cut decision ala Michael Jordan in basketball, there is really no such thing as THE GOAT in any particular sport. What I will say, is Peyton is indeed in the top tier of QB’s that ever played the game.
The Joe Montana/Johnny Unitas/Dan Marino/Tom Brady class….he is there and that is something to cherish and praise.
I have been following Manning since a little ESPN show called Scholastic Sports America in the early 90s. He was the top ranked player in the nation going into college, then at Tennessee he was the best QB in the land, but couldn’t get over the hump and defeat the rival Florida Gators. It seemed as if his career would have the same sort of feeling of emptiness until his Colts finally defeated the Patriots in the 06 title game. Every player has a proverbial monkey on his back, The Patriots and Tom Brady was that monkey. Winning the Super Bowl that season was the icing of the cake. A career that was predicted to win multiple Super Bowls had finally won his first. Last night fulfilled that ultimate goal. Its not unlike other superstars who won their last game as a Super Bowl Champion.
John Elway and Jerome Bettis didn’t have to play lights out to win their last games, nor should they have had to…just like Peyton. I believe this was his last game, and if it was, no one will remember how he played during the season/playoffs, they will remember the ring and that’s a really cool thing.
