More than just a quarterback

(This column ran in the Oct. 19, 2013 edition of the Vincennes Sun-Commercial newspaper. I chose to post it here so I would be able to keep some personal record of it, but also because I have friends that do not have the newspaper readily available to them.)


I'll never forget the first copy of ESPN the Magazine that I bought. The cover was graced with half of Peyton Manning's face and half of Ryan Leaf's face, the two quarterbacks that were vying to be the top pick in the 1998 NFL Draft. I bought the issue specifically because the Colts held the No. 1 pick, and one of these two would, presumably, be the face of my team for the next decade plus. I don't remember any specific details, but I remember reading the cover story and thinking that Peyton Manning was a lock to be the first choice. 

I never thought I'd be rooting against Peyton.

That's why I don’t know how I’m going to feel when I walk into Lucas Oil Stadium Sunday. My family and I have had Colts season tickets for over 10 years now, and I’ve been to more than my fair share of big games. I’ve seen classic quarterback duels, come-from-behind victories and playoff games, but nothing comes close to comparing to what I’ll witness tonight.

I’ve been thinking about this game for over a year now, ever since the moment I heard Denver would be playing in Indianapolis. Peyton's coming back to the Circle City to play against the franchise he helped build into a perennial contender for over a decade (That's how it is to be a Colts fan, more specifically a season ticket holder, by the way. We've had such a intimate relationship with our quarterback for so long that we're on a first-name basis with him.). Clearly I have some bias, but to me this matchup is unprecedented.

Sure, many athletes have left the franchises with which they were once synonymous and later came back to play against those teams, especially quarterbacks.

The closest example of a future Hall of Fame quarterback playing against his former team was in 1994 when Joe Montana, then with the Kansas City Chiefs, took on his former teammates from San Francisco. Like the Colts, the 49ers had a young stud (Steve Young,  a future Hall of Famer) ready to take control, so it was easy to let Montana leave. However, that game took place in Kansas City. There was no homecoming for Montana.

The next example that jumps to mind is when Brett Favre left the Packers in 2008 and ended up with division rival Minnesota after a mediocre season in New York.  But that situation doesn’t even compare, in my opinion, for two main reasons. The first is that Favre left Green Bay on pretty bad terms.

Favre left his team in limbo while trying to decide whether or not to continue his career or head for retirement. The Packers, much like the 49ers, had a credible back up quarterback in Aaron Rodgers who was ready to become the face of the franchise, and ultimately Green Bay decided to cut the chord. While many fans were initially upset with the decision, the prevailing sentiment was that Favre was being selfish with his indecisive waffling.

But the biggest difference between the two situations is that Packers franchise was already one of the flagship franchises of the NFL. Before Favre, the Packers had 11 NFL championships (Super Bowls I and II, and nine pre-Super Bowl titles). Aside from a few quality years from Eric Dickerson and a brief, loveable underdog run with "Captain Comeback" Jim Harbaugh, the Indianapolis Colts were a perennial loser.
Peyton put Indianapolis on the football map.

While the Colts have a considerable amount of history, the vast majority of that history took place in Baltimore. Considering owner Robert Irsay left a bad taste in the mouths of many NFL fans when he snuck the team out of Baltimore in the middle of the night in late March of 1984, it’s no wonder many people didn’t believe Indianapolis to be a true football city.

Peyton changed all of that.

Several years ago in this space I mentioned a conversation I had with some college friends in the Fall of 2003 where I argued that Indianapolis was not a football town. For starters, I argued, the Colts had little to no history in the city. At the time, Peyton had had some success, but his first four seasons included a 32-32 regular season record and two disappointing playoff losses. 

The other argument I made was that Indiana was a basketball state. Despite Reggie Miller being in the twilight of his career, the Pacers owned the city, and basketball seemed destined to be the king sport forever.

Fourteen months after that debate, the Pacers gave the NBA (along with several unsuspecting fans in Detroit) a black eye, and all but a few diehards turned away from what was once Indianapolis's premier sports team. Where would they turn? Who would be the face of the city, and essentially the state?

Peyton made things pretty easy. Even though the Colts suffered two infamous playoff losses in New England, Peyton gave every sports fan a reason to believe. While members of the media and non-Colts fans questioned Peyton's clutch status, we Colts fans were content knowing that our team would put up at least 10 wins (it ended up being seven straight seasons of at least 12 wins) and be in contention every season.

Say what you want about Peyton's lack of success in the postseason —and if you've paid any attention to the news this weak, you know Colts owner Jim Irsay has— but speaking from experience, it's pretty fun to know that your team is going to be in the playoffs every year.

I could go on and on about Peyton's accomplishments in Indianapolis, but much of that wouldn't be anything you couldn't find by doing a quick Google search. What you may not find is that perhaps his greatest accomplishment is capturing the hearts of fans everywhere, and that's not limited to the state of Indiana. 

Five years ago I visited some friends in Houston who happened to be youth ministers. In their youth group was an 8-year-old boy who just so happened be a Colts fan. Why? Because of Peyton Manning. Last year, I went to Kansas City to watch the Colts take on the then-lowly Chiefs. I talked to about 20 other Colts fans who happened to be in attendance, and not one of them was from the state of Indiana.

The point is that the Indianapolis Colts matter, not just to a small fan base in the midwest like they did 15 years ago, but across the sports world. We have Peyton to thank for that.

So who wins Sunday's game? Perhaps the better question is, who will the fans be rooting for? For me, it's a no-brainer. I'm a firm believer that a sports fan picks his or her team and sticks with it. But while there's a part of me that will undoubtedly get the urge to scoff at every orange No. 18 jersey I see walking around downtown tonight, I understand. I'm extremely grateful for everything Peyton has done, and given everything I've just written, it's not surprising, nor is it wrong that some fans will choose to root for him this evening.

No matter what the outcome, the majority of fans will likely head home happy this evening. Either the young upstart Andrew Luck (Yes, there are two quarterbacks playing tonight) knocks of the old dog, or Peyton continues his torrid pace and gets some bragging rights. 

Regardless, the fans of Indianapolis deserve to see Peyton play one last time, and if there were ever a time where the player was more important than the team, this is it. That is what makes this game, and ultimately Peyton Manning's relationship with this franchise, so special.