I enjoyed Super Bowl XLIV very much, but maybe not for the reasons you expect.
Not for the commercials, which usually reek of desperation, like someone exec ordered the ad agency to use up the entirety of the huge special effects budget or else the Board of Directors would be angry. How about starting with "intelligent" or "clever" and saving a few hundred thousand dollars? There's people out of work.
Seeing The Who? I'm just glad two of them are still alive. For seniors, they still rock.
Am I satisfied because the Saints won? Somewhat. I am very happy for the organization and the city of New Orleans.
Was I glad that it was a close game? Yeah. No one likes a blowout, unless it's your favorite team laying down the hurt. Otherwise, it's boring.
Having a lot of friends over? So fun. We gave away prizes! (How is it that the one person who was sorta clueless about football guessed the score almost exactly and won first prize?)
Am I happy that the Colts lost? Now we're getting to the heart of the matter. Being a New England Patriots fan, I like seeing their rivals lose.
Is my satisfaction derived from Peyton Manning throwing up all over himself at a crucial moment?
Bingo!
Listen, I like Peyton Manning as a human being. He is great in commercials and doesn't take himself too seriously. He seems like a nice person. He works hard.
But I am sick and tired of people calling him the greatest quarterback ever.
He is undeniably great. He'll get voted into the Hall of Fame on the first ballot - and deservedly so. His numbers are gaudy, and I don't need to look them up to see how eye-popping they are.
But I need a guy to win the big games to call him the best ever. Let's not lose sight of the fact that Manning is 9-9 in playoff games. He has made crucial mistakes when games were on the line. He has one Superbowl ring, after his team beat a relatively weak 2006 Bears squad.
Listen, there's guys ahead of him who get into the playoffs and WIN. You want eye-popping numbers?
How about 4 wins and no losses in Super Bowls, with 11 touchdown passes, zero interceptions and a rating of 127.8? That's Joe Montana.
How about 4-0, with 8 TDs, 3 INTs, and a rating of 112.8? Terry Bradshaw.
How about a guy who is playing right now, with a 3-1 Superbowl record, 7 touchdown passes, one interception and a rating of 95.1? One Tom Brady.
Manning is 1-1 in the big game, with 2 TDs and 2 INTs. His rating is in the mid-80s.
So let's not compare him to the true greats. If he wins a second Super Bowl, people will be itching to anoint him as the greatest sports figure of all time. Feh. He doesn't deserve it, and I don't want fervent know-nothings to have any more ammunition with which to make a weak argument.
So, to avoid having to do this all over again, I'm gonna go ahead and hope the single Super Bowl ring is all he ever gets.
Also, he refused to shake hands after the game. Go make a face and cry then, Peyton. See you next year. Or with hope… not.
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2 comments:
The only thing I have to say is that winning during the regular season is far different from winning playoff games.
OK, I have more to say.
And the main reason Peyton keeps having trouble in big games is coaching.
He has the tools and the greatness, but without a solid gameplan, he is prone to lose large games.
Seriously.
Let's look at the other side of your coin.
Brady is only 3-1 because of coaching. You could have put Peyton Manning in those shoes, in those games and he would have come out 4-0.
Really. He would have schooled his little brother in the one Super Bowl that Tom the whiner lost. And he would have played in a superior system of players that Tom rode all the way to his three rings.
I would even say that you could put a guy like Matt Cassel in that role and he would have the same number of rings.
It's the system, the people around you and the play calling. You might need some decision-making skill, but all quarterbacks at the NFL level have that.
So stop beating up on Peyton because you're a #hatriots lover. Were I in your shoes I would have been rooting for Indy because when it gets to the big game and your team is out of it, you should root for the division.
I am shocked and shagrinned at your meanness.
Fail.
Mediocre quarterbacks don't win Super Bowls.
Good quarterbacks occasionally win, but usually lose, Super Bowls.
Only great quarterbacks win multiple Super Bowls.
Go look a this list and tell me how many good (not great) QBs you see under the WINNING column:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/playoffs07/news/story?id=3209899
Maybe 5? Out of 44?
Now look at the LOSING QB column. Not until Super Bowl 22 did a great QB lose to a good QB. Then Jim Kelly did it twice. That's IT. In HISTORY. EVER.
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