I’m no expert when it comes to Professional or even College
Athletics. In fact, I am completely
clueless when it comes to a lot of technical aspects of sports, but I do have
this going for me… I’m totally biased and opinionated about what I think about
certain athletes and athletic programs.
One of my favorite sports teams of all time has been the
Denver Broncos. While I was in Denver
this past April for a Journalism Conference we stayed at the Hotel VQ, and I
nearly peed my pants when I opened the curtains and saw the Sports Authority Field
at Mile High outside my window.
One of the things I have loved about Denver is their
Quarterback selection; not always excellent athletes but they have been consistently
good men (Nauseating I know… figures that a woman would blog about ‘what a nice
guy’ Tim Tebow is…). Say what you will
about the successes (or lack there-of) of Jay Cutler or Jake Plummer while with
the Broncos- even Brian Griese for that matter- they all played with
heart. And regardless of how you feel
about Tim Tebow’s fourth-quarter nail biting performances, he was fun to
watch. For me, the human interest appeal
goes a long way in athletics.
There has yet to be a Quarterback in Denver that has held a
candle to John Elway, but then he was one of the greatest Quarterbacks in
league history, setting the stage for those to follow. And now the tables have turned (for me
anyway).
I have never liked Peyton Manning- I think he is a bit of an
advertising whore and I don’t think he is a very coachable Quarterback because
of his ego. My dislike for him began
much for the same reason I hate the Lakers- out of principle-I will not jump on the bandwagon of a winning team! I will not
conform! However, along with my
extremely biased and opinionated disposition comes a small level of ‘everyone
deserves a chance to prove me wrong’ inkling… and thus my search for “feel goods”
about Peyton Manning began.
It turns out he is kind of a nice guy. Psh.
He has his own foundation called The Peyback Foundation, and through
this philanthropic endeavor has donated over $4 million to youth programs in
Indiana. His foundation runs an after
school program for underprivileged kids and his wife is adorable!
Ah…
Alas, I find myself swooning.
…And the lovable Broncos
Quarterback streak lives on.
Will he be able to do for Denver what he did in Indy is the
question. A friend of mine and I were
talking about whether or not off-season performance should be taken into
account when speculating about the success an athlete will see the following
season. With so much time between now
and pre-season, there really is no way of knowing how things will pan out.
The other problem is he is not only recovering from a nasty
injury, he is learning a completely new system. He was with the Colts for over
ten years (14 I think), and it’s hard to break out of what you are comfortable
with. That coupled with the injury makes
for QUITE the human interest appeal without the added bonus of philanthropy and
a smokin’ wife.
