With a New Orleans Saints win tonight, my long, lazy, and nerve wracking Sunday of NFL football and chips and dip has finally come to an end.
Thank the Lord, my worst case scenario fears of a Colts/Vikings Super Bowl have been avoided. If you've read any of my previous posts on football, you know of my disdain for both the Vikings and Colts, my two most hated teams in football. I won't delve into a drawn out rant about that here. Rather, I'd like to talk a little bit about the two most slobbered over quarterbacks in the NFL. Peyton Manning and Brett Favre.
The first game today featured the New York Jets against the Indianapolis Colts from Lucas Oil Stadium in Indy, or should I say "The House That Peyton Built". Gag me. Peyton Manning seriously sickens me. Every Sunday all we hear from the commentators and the media is how amazing Peyton Manning is. How much of a leader he is. How cool he is under pressure. Reminds me of someone else. As my brother put it: "Peyton Manning is like the Obama of the NFL." So true. Day in and day out we are subjected to the CBS Sports crew of Jim Nantz, Phil Simms, Dan Dierdorf, and a host of others kissing Peyton's butt like their salary depended upon it. Just last Sunday we heard the idiot Dierdorf proclaim that "Peyton Manning is the greatest QB ever to play in this league". Really Dierdorf? Peyton Manning, the man that cannot play in cold weather. Peyton Manning, the man that mandates a set temperature in his home stadium. Peyton Manning, the man that immediately falls to the ground when he thinks he might be hit. Peyton Manning, the man that grimaces and whines like a toddler that just pooped his pants every time he fails to convert a 3rd down. What a joke. I don't care how smart he is with the football. If you can't play football like a man, you don't deserve to be considered an all time great. The man prances around like a prissy schoolgirl for goodness sake. Not to mention the fact you cannot sit through a Sunday afternoon watching the games without seeing his mug plastered all over the TV during commercial breaks. Peyton Manning, the colossal sissy, has been Obamaized by the media and the NFL. And for that, I hate him, his team, and his team's fans, who wouldn't know the first thing about tailgating and wouldn't last 5 minutes at a winter game at Soldier Field. I hate all kinds of figures. Satan. Barack Obama. Osama bin Laden. Oprah. Peyton Manning.
On the other side, we have Brett Favre, a man I used to despise up until today. A lifelong Bears fan, it has been my duty to hate Brett Favre. Not anymore. Brett Favre is similar to Peyton Manning in many ways. He is idolized by the media as well, and can be seen in a number of commercials. But there's something about Favre that separates him from Manning. He's a real man I guess you could say. After watching tonights' Vikings/Saints game, my opinion of Favre slowly evolved from disgust to respect. With each mega hit Favre endured, my reaction went from utter glee in the first quarter to astonishment in the 4th quarter. The man got obliterated time and again. And you know what? He didn't shy away at all. He didn't play pussball like Peyton Manning, seeing a defender approaching and falling to the ground to avoid a hit. The 40 year old Favre, gray stubble and all, played like a real man. Like the NFL stars of old, when the glamour and glitz of today's game was non existent. When Favre took a vicious hit which left him hobbling off the field, and returned later to finish the game I wanted to stand up and clap. Even while playing with a gimpy leg, he still was in the thick of every play. While I cannot even put into words my disgust for the Minnesota Vikings, whom I hate more than the Colts even, I respect Favre for his exhibition of toughness tonight, and not only that, but his classy display of sportsmanship after such a tough loss. Bravo. Suddenly, the Frank Caliendo parodies of John Madden's devout loyalty and love for Brett Favre don't seem so bizarre!
One thing I am dreading from this Saints win? The impending media orgy we are about to endure over Peyton Manning dueling against his father's old team. Mark my words. Looks like I'm gonna be using my earplugs for more than just Obama's State of the Union address...
I too get sick of the slobberfest by the media of these two quarteback darlings. Of the two quarterbacks Brett Favre is my least favorite. I just wonder if he will cry and quit now?
ReplyDeleteHaha, I highly doubt it!
ReplyDeleteYou have to think that Favre may be a little overrated much like the Dan Marino. Other than the Super Bowl win, he does have issues winning the big game. He gave that game away yesterday--GAVE IT AWAY!
ReplyDeleteI agree,Bill. How many interceptions did he have? He gave it away with stupid mistakes. He rolled to one side of the field and then threw against the grain to the opposite side. This is a big no no. Dont they teach that in Jr.high football?
ReplyDeleteDa Bears. Love 'em. That said, I think that Peyton Manning is indeed a great QB. I watched him curl up into a fetal position during the Ravens game last week after fading back to pass and seeing 370 pound Haloti Ngata coming straight at him with a full head of steam, unblocked with a straight shot at taking his head off.
ReplyDeleteTaking a suicide hit like that, or living to see another play, you tell me. Taking flops is all part of the game. Reminds me in basketball of Bill Laimbeer of the Detroit Pistons, the king of the floppers. He was 6'11, slow as molasses, but effective. Sissy? Nope, he was as hated as any player on the floor (I am guessing you were a Bulls fan at the time and know this), but he has a championship ring to show for those doves he took. I still hate him, but that doesn't mean he wasn't effective. He was.
All of those quirks you list of Peyton Mannings: he's still the most effective QB around. Not that I am a fan, either, I wanted to see him fail in Super Bowl XLI, and the Bears were even in that game until the end with no QB. Yeah, we had a Q-BINO (quarterback in name only): Rex Grossman.
Yes sir, die hard Bulls fan here. And I remember all too well Bill Laimbeer and the bad boys of Detroit. I hate flopping in basketball too. I guess you could say I'm the kind of guy that thinks the end should not justify the means when it comes to sports. Flopping in basketball, to me, is like cheating. Derek Fisher, and most of the Lakers, have perfected this, which is why I cannot stand them. Flopping in football, or ducking shall we say, may be the smart thing to do, but it sure as hell aint the toughest. And football to me, is about toughness. Yes, Peyton Manning is an amazing QB. But he doesn't play like a man, and until he does, I will not respect him.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, good one about Rex! After seeing Jay Cutler this year, Grossman doesn't seem so bad anymore!
Good Rex vs Bad Rex: as Joni Mitchell once warbled, 'you don't know what you got 'till it's gone.' I was coveting Kyle Orton, too, along with regretting getting rid of Bernard Berrian, Marc Columbo, Thomas Jones, Musin Muhammad, and even Cedric Benson.
ReplyDeletePeyton: I get your point, Hack, and it is kind of ironic: the kind of football you view as pure, tough, smash mouth stuff, the style that Peyton eschews - that was the way his Dad played in New Orleans back in the day. Recall, Archie would live and die in that pocket, still put up some great numbers, but get beat to hell doing it, what with no linemen of note to help him out. He was without question or debate THE toughest football player ever. Maybe not the most effective, or successful, but hands down the toughest. Looks like the apple fell quite a bit away from the tree on this one.
That, or Archie, while rubbing his bad knee, bad back, bad shoulder, bad everything, told little Peytie something like, 'son, if you ever get to the NFL, don't be a hero. Hit the ground and live to fight another day.'
Possible?
Hack, I see, since I am a die-hard cheese head, that you and I could spend endless hours debating various seasons of the Pack-Bears rivalry. You are spot on about Favre being old school in the "black and blue" league. This guy needs "the game" to exist. His uniform color has always been immaterial. I have witnessed too many of those "cross-grained" throws catch the defense with their pants down to be as critical as others.
ReplyDeleteWe also agree about Manning's "don't hurt the baby" approach to a man's game. They should have two catagories in "the most starts" stat; one for actual contact players and one for pussies. In comparison, I have seen Favre blocking for a runner. In a world of cowards, it's always refreshing to see a man in action.