Peyton Manning retired today.
He will be known for his trophy case full of records that will take at least a decade for anyone to break. His five league MVPs might take even longer for someone to match. Part of Manning’s NFL legacy will include his self-deprecating TV commercials, the imprint that a football helmet makes on his forehead, and the fervor with which he practiced and played. Sports talk radio and TV will be filled this week with discussions of Manning’s rank among all-time great quarterbacks. Those conversations will return on queue, in five years, when he’ll be a first-ballot hall of fame inductee.
Probably more than anything, though, Manning’s career will most be referenced in terms of “Manning vs. Brady.” The two all-time greats played each other 17 times, almost always with playoff berth or playoff advancement on the line. Those games were “must watch TV” for most NFL fans, regardless of the teams for which we cheered. Rarely did they disappoint.
Peyton has the records. Tom has the rings.
They both have won five of the last ten games against each other. They both have won two of their four playoff games against each other. They both have massive fan bases, and both fan bases tend to denigrate the other QB as if both can’t be great.
That’s the nature of sports discussions now—the nature of all discussions. For some reason, we as a culture have to reduce the things we love to either or. Popularity and support have to be zero-sum propositions, where the light can only shine in one direction. There has to be a wrong and right opinion; and there has to be battling bloggers, arguing tweeters, and opposing pundits around tables.
We can’t have and. We can’t enjoy both.
We can’t like both Brady and Manning.
We can’t be both American patriots and citizens of the world.
We can’t believe in both absolute truth and mystery.
We can’t appropriate breasts for both natural feedings and sexual encounters.
We can’t have both small government and big compassion.
We can’t give credence to both science and faith.
We can’t leverage both ambition and contentment.
We can’t say that both black lives matter and blue lives matter.
We miss being able to enjoy conversations or participate in discovery, because we assume there’s only one way to absorb joy and knowledge. We struggle to understand and celebrate others, because that would require work, nuance, and understanding.
We are all nurtured or influenced into our biases. We were born in Indiana or New England. We vacationed in Myrtle Beach or a developing country. We visited an African Methodist Episcopal church or a police station. We attended a state university or a private college. We served in the military or volunteered with the Peace Corps. Or some dramatic event imprinted a perspective that we use to filter our worldview going forward.
I don’t know how we cure the sectarianism—in ourselves, let alone in others. I know there’s some courage involved, some comfort zones to be surpassed, some diversity to invite. Some social media self control wouldn’t hurt, either.
What I do know is that we can choose to celebrate people. We can recognize their contribution and the positive aspects of their worldview. We can see each other as players in this sport of life, trying to do the same thing we are. There will be winners and losers at different contests along the way; but we all want to feel valuable, accepted, wanted.
As NFL fans, our entertainment has been better for the past 18 years because both of these men have taken the field. They’ve both played with fire in their bellies and conducted interviews with grace. They’ve chased accomplishment but deflected praise. They’ve made their teammates better and contributed to the community.
Even though I root for another team, I can slow clap for Peyton Manning today. Whenever Tom Brady calls it quits, I can give him two thumbs up, too.
It’s a small step, but I think it’s one that both Brady and Manning would applaud. After all, they have greatly respected each other and have had far more at stake with that honor than any of us do.
—
Stock cover photo purchased from iStockPhoto.com.
