Super Bowl XLIV

In the wake of Sunday night’s Super Bowl a really strange phenomena is taking place here in the great northeast. People everywhere are celebrating as if our beloved Patriots had just won the Super Bowl (almost). I know the entire non-Indiana country was rooting for the Saints, so I can’t be absolutely sure what the feeling is like outside of Massachusetts, but I’m pretty sure it’s a little different than here.

Why are Patriot faithful taking such delight in the events that unfolded in Sunday night? Does it go beyond a simple rivalry?

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Among the media’s endless pursuits to come up with interesting Super Bowl side-plots, one that gained increasing attention as the game drew near (and admittedly the one that I would’ve focused on if I were an actual writer) was that of Peyton Manning’s legacy. I think the majority of people who actually pay attention to football from historical standpoint and look beyond the naked eye test share the general acceptance that there are some major stains on Peyton Manning’s “Greatest of All Time” resume. Namely, his atrocious playoff history and knack for coming up smaller and smaller as the moments get bigger and bigger.

As I wrote a few months ago, I suspected that by having Super Bowl XLI handed to him Peyton had finally gotten the proverbial monkey off his back and could possibly be a forever changed man. I suspected (feared, speaking as a Patriots fan) that by getting that ring, he had nothing left to prove and no more reason to fear the big moments that had haunted him for seemingly his whole life. I looked at the last two playoffs in which he went 0-2 and saw that his offense in each game put up the highest point totals they ever had in playoff losses. I saw a guy who looked different late in games in the regular season. I had convinced myself, mostly out of fear, that he had flipped the switch. That it would no longer be Peyton who let the Colts down in big games.

Sure I should’ve pointed out the obvious to myself; firstly that the regular season had never been his issue. Until that Jets game a couple weeks ago, the best game of Peyton’s career had been a Monday Night game in October against Tampa Bay, which, had it happened in the playoffs, might have been one of the greatest games of all time. But it didn’t. It happened in October. And of course I should’ve put more emphasis on the fact that Colts played NOBODY this season (best win against a first round eliminated Patriots team at home; a game the Pats should’ve won anyway). And there’s no way I should’ve accepted first game playoff losses to non-Super Bowl teams the last two playoffs as acceptable performances from a clutch assassin. As usual, sports hindsight makes me feel silly.

But there were some good things to look at on the other side of the coin as well. My fear was fueled and justified by over-excusing Peyton’s continuing playoff shortcomings.

The first of those playoff losses in the Post-XLI era was the first season that Marvin Harrison became a sudden non-factor and was excused by me primarily with the “I don’t think the Colts passing game had adjusted to the passing of the torch to Reggie Wayne and the young guys” logic.

The second playoff loss I excused as- - ok well actually I don’t even know how I excused that second one. I have no idea how I overlooked the Colts offense scoring only 17 points and zero of them in the 4th quarter and overtime. This was a typical Peyton Manning playoff game! How did I miss this!? It was just last season! Once again, this why I don’t gamble.

I think I got caught up in the regular season Peyton just like I see everyone else doing. I think maybe I let myself be a little influenced by my Colts-fan roommate from Indiana. But most of all, I think I might have just been starting to feel bad for Peyton.

I think for some weird reason I wanted to believe that a change had happened in Payton. I wanted his career to make some sense to me. I am obsessed with making sense of what I see in sports. The dichotomy that is Peyton Manning’s legacy makes no sense to me. How someone can play at the highest level we’ve ever seen the game played for the majority of the year, only to go on to play it at a level that can barely be described as average in the playoffs and big games, is just too drastic of a change for my brain to comprehend. Is his legacy really as simple as… “Choker”. Have we ever seen a player like this? At this level? What do we do with him on the all-time list? What do we make of his otherworldly stats and regular season performances year in and year out?

Maybe it wasn’t so much about feeling bad for Peyton as it was just my need for it to make more sense to me. I love sports. I’ve talked in this space about what being a true fan of the game means to me. I love the history of it. I love the legends of the game. I love the winning and losing. I love the complicated simplicity of it. Sure there’s a lot to look when evaluating players. Sure the arguments can be endless with your buddies debating things like; Brady or Montana, Bird or Magic, LeBron or Kobe, Would Jim Brown be as dominant in today’s NFL, Offense or Defense, Jessica Alba or Jessica Biel- - I mean- - well you get my point. And sure there’s always going to be disagreements on those things. But we always have the actual games. Eventually every opinion (predictive) gets proven one way or another. Or rather, eventually you have all the evidence needed to form your final verdict.

In the week leading up to Super Bowl XLIV I was talking with a friend about some of the complicated things in life and I thought that this was exactly why I love sports. The real life stuff we talked about, we may never know the truth to. In sports, I knew that in a couple days I would know for a fact whether or not Peyton had reached another level. Whether he had put the choking behind him. I would have proof unfold right before my eyes of what the story of Peyton’s career is to this point.

I want to appreciate history as it’s unfolding. I feel like a lot of fans are so critical and so scarred to lose their legends that they have a hard time putting what we’re seeing in perspective. Other fans go completely the other way and say things like, “I already have LeBron as the greatest small forward ever”. (That would be a quote from Jeff Van Gundy last season AFTER Mark Jackson pointing out that Larry Bird played SF) I want to have a grasp of what I’m seeing and appreciate it for what it is as it happens.

I am not a Peyton Manning fan. (Sorry about that picture to the left.. but.. not really. I never claimed to be mature) I don’t want him to pass Montana, Brady, Elway or anyone else that may still be ahead of him on the all time list. However, if it’s going to happen, I want to appreciate getting to be around to see it. My love for football, my love for sports, transcends my biases and my love for certain players and teams. Don’t get me wrong, I am crushed each and every time my team fails, or a guy like Peyton or Kobe pass one of my guys on the list. But I appreciate the opportunity to see it happen. I appreciate what they’re accomplishing. I appreciate the unfolding of a new legend and being able to be there for it.

This is why, more than anything, I may have found myself sub-consciously wanting Peyton to have reached another level. I already have witnessed the tail end of Elway’s career and the entire career of Brady (playing for my team, no less). To have witnessed the entire career of a 3rd guy who is one of the top 4 greatest modern era QB’s to ever strap a helmet on? Well that’s something I would have an appreciation for.

However, I am not a Peyton Manning fan. (And even more, I am a Tom Brady fan... and no these two things are not mutually exclusive) I wasn’t sure what I wanted to happen in that game, but with 3 and a half minutes left I found out for sure. When Tracy Porter jumped that curl and Peyton hit him in the numbers, I think I pulled 5 muscles exploding off the couch in celebration (it was kinda like this, only I then ran around the house like a maniac in stunned celebration).

See, I knew exactly what I was watching. I had tweeted moments earlier, “Next 5 minutes could be pivotal to Peyton's legacy. History unfolding right now.” I wasn’t sure what to expect, but if my suspicions about Peyton being a new man were correct, the Colts would march down and score and probably go on to win the game. I even said out loud after the Saints touchdown that there would probably be 3 more scores in the game. Even after the pick-6, I wasn’t completely sure what Peyton was proving. Greatness, or… other?


My next tweet, “No comment. Except that this game is not over yet.” I was afraid to move, afraid to think, afraid to sit back down (I didn’t). I was completely captivated by what was unfolding right before all of our eyes. The single biggest, most important, most microcosm-istic (new word, deal with it) moments of the career of one of the legends of the game were happening on live television in front of the largest audience in television history! This was a moment.

Well, with the next Colts possession it quickly became painfully obvious that my last tweet was wrong. This game was over. Peyton was painfully rattled. He was spraying footballs all over the field, with some success even, but it looked like chaos. No coolness, no calm, no confidence. Just an overwhelming sense of impending doom. This was not the cool assassin who terrified me as a Pats fan in Week 10. Even as they marched to the goal line I knew there was no way Peyton had 2 scores in him. Not an ounce of fear in me. I had seen this guy before. This was the old Payton. That “new” Peyton was a hoax. A figment of my imagination. This was the real Peyton, and he was not a threat to the Saints.

On first and goal with 1:33 on the clock, Peyton dropped back and I couldn’t even keep it in as I said out loud, “Look how flustered he is! He’s gonna do it again!” Sure enough, as the words were coming out of my mouth Peyton was drilling the ball into the hands of the Saints Jabari Greer for what would’ve been game ending INT, if it were for an incredibly heads up offensive pass interference by rookie Pierre Garcon who pushed Greer’s leg out of bounds making the interception incomplete.

A few incompletions later Drew Brees took a snap from the victory formation and it was all over. 31-17 Saints.

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So why have New Englanders been celebrating as if it were us who won the Super Bowl?

I think it goes back to a post I put up a couple months ago about what it means to be a True Fan. As Patriots fans, we love the fact that one of the top 2 all time QB’s is our guy. And we realized that someone was getting dangerously close to that zone. We realized that a 2 score, 5 minute comeback to win the Super Bowl, may have been all the ammo Peyton needed to catch and- - gulp- - God forbid, arguably pass Tom Brady on the all time list. When Peyton crumbled once again in his biggest fashion yet, and on the biggest stage possible, we knew that meant Tom had maintained his grip on the top spot. We knew that discussion was over for now.

So for us, as Brady fans, it was like a win. Because on that great big scoreboard of all time, we knew Peyton was in position to put up some huge points. Possibly enough to be in striking distance of our guy. And instead, he got shut out. Our lead was safe and as big as ever. For another season, we have the highest score.


We know it won’t last forever. That’s another great thing about sports. Everyone gets passed. We get to see new legends come and go right before our eyes. Every so often we get the privilege, as sports fans, of seeing someone come along and do it better than it’s ever been done before. It’s one of the things that keeps us coming back.

We know Brady won’t always be the greatest, but for right now he still is. So yeah, it was like we won something.

Now if only he can come back strong next year and actually win the Super Bowl, well, then you’ll see a real celebration here in New England. Again.