This coming Sunday will showcase the National Football League in all of its glory. The Saints and the Colts have earned the right to play for the Championship and will undoubtedly engage in a shootout in which the team who has the ball last will raise the Lombardi Trophy, and that alone is enough to sufficiently hype the game.
But this means less work for the hype machine.
So who will make a big deal about the fact that this is the first Super Bowl featuring two teams who play in domes?
What about how Archie Manning, the most popular player in Saints history, will be rooting for his son Peyton and the Colts?
Or how about Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, who boldly stated that his team will be looking for "remember me" shots on the Colts' star quarterback?
It won't be me. The only thing you need to convince me to tune in is the fact that Peyton Manning is well on his way to becoming the best football player in NFL history, and I want to see him win another Super Bowl while he's still in his prime.
Now, I'm not Peyton's biggest fan by any means. I often change the channels when his commercials are on, and as a Pats fan, have been waiting on Manning to finally, maybe, miss one game.
I also blame him for his brother Eli ruining the Pats' perfect season, but none of that changes the fact that every star quarterback from now on will be measured against Peyton's gold standard.
By relaxing the rules, a premium was put on having a lights-out quarterback, and the teams that do have reaped the benefits.
It's no coincidence that the Colts (with Manning), Patriots (Tom Brady), Chargers (Philip Rivers) and Steelers (Ben Roethlisberger) are the dominant AFC teams, and the Saints, led by Brees, have emerged as the NFC champion.
Such rule changes would never be implemented to protect running backs. If LaDanian Tomlinson complained about being hit too hard (and I can't confirm that he hasn't already), the league would have told him to suck it up. But for Manning, Brady and company, the rules were changed.
While Brady might be more of a winner (three Super Bowl titles to Manning's one), it's not unreasonable to say that Manning could surpass him in that category with a Super Bowl victory. If we do finally reach this point, the heavily debated Manning vs. Brady argument becomes an afterthought.
Consider the numbers.
This season alone, Manning's passer rating is a shade under 100, with a modest 4,500 yards and 33 touchdown passes. Not bad for someone's 13th season in the League.
Over his career, he has amassed 50,128 yards, completing 64% of his passes and throwing 366 touchdowns.
If he keeps up his current pace and plays as long as career yards and touchdown leader Brett Favre, he could end his career as number one. But unlike Favre, who seems to need the gratification that football brings, Manning doesn't seem to be one who will refuse to walk away.
With gaudy numbers like his, it isn't unreasonable to believe that the period in which those stats were accumulated will be taken with a grain of salt, like when baseball was still referring to the 90's as the "juiced ball" era as opposed to just the "juice" era.
But while his stats could potentially be discounted, nobody can take away from his leadership abilities and dedication to the pursuit of excellence.
His fabled "passing tree," in which he would run a progression of routes with his wide receivers to perfect their timing, is now a blueprint for young quarterbacks across the nation.
His tireless film study -- he often memorizes opponents formations, depending on situation, to better understand what they will run -- lets Manning impose his game on defenses as opposed to submitting to their will.
In fact, it wasn't until he finally had faith in his reads and took the offensive in his yearly chess matches with Bill Belichick that Manning finally prevailed over the rival Pats.
To get over that final hump, Manning will have to beat the team he grew up rooting for. A distraction to some, the circumstances would only make it sweeter to Manning. Regardless, the stage is set for a classic.
All that's left to do is enjoy it.
But this means less work for the hype machine.
So who will make a big deal about the fact that this is the first Super Bowl featuring two teams who play in domes?
What about how Archie Manning, the most popular player in Saints history, will be rooting for his son Peyton and the Colts?
Or how about Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, who boldly stated that his team will be looking for "remember me" shots on the Colts' star quarterback?
It won't be me. The only thing you need to convince me to tune in is the fact that Peyton Manning is well on his way to becoming the best football player in NFL history, and I want to see him win another Super Bowl while he's still in his prime.
Now, I'm not Peyton's biggest fan by any means. I often change the channels when his commercials are on, and as a Pats fan, have been waiting on Manning to finally, maybe, miss one game.
I also blame him for his brother Eli ruining the Pats' perfect season, but none of that changes the fact that every star quarterback from now on will be measured against Peyton's gold standard.
The NFL is in its aforementioned heyday because of Manning. You can bet that the league knew exactly what they were doing when they decided that receivers needed to be able to run free and quarterbacks needed to be protected to the point of pampering.
By relaxing the rules, a premium was put on having a lights-out quarterback, and the teams that do have reaped the benefits.
It's no coincidence that the Colts (with Manning), Patriots (Tom Brady), Chargers (Philip Rivers) and Steelers (Ben Roethlisberger) are the dominant AFC teams, and the Saints, led by Brees, have emerged as the NFC champion.
Be the first to comment on this article!