My love of the NFL has impacted my life in myriad ways, from helping me to delve deeper into the world of advanced stats, to helping me write better, to also wasting hours upon hours of my life sitting in front of a box watching football, and then in front of another box reading, writing, listening and imbibing football. And for the positive impact that has had in my life, and the negative impact, I squarely put the credit and the blame on Peyton Manning.
I spent most of the past 13 years as a football fan watching him play, but more than that, defending his status as a great player, that people should not judge careers only on how many titles they win, that Peyton Manning should be universally respected, that he does not have an inability to win in the playoffs. I spent to much time defending him and more than that hoping for him, hoping he would get another chance to win over everyone. Slowly but surely, I realized that this was a fool's errand, that no matter what happens there will be detractors and haters so locked in their own jail of their own simplistic football mind that will never change their mind. But still, I wanted him to win. And then he won. And then he retired. And here I am, trying to think of I how my life as a football fan will proceed.
In less than two weeks the NFL will kick off a season without Peyton Manning, and I will kick of a season of watching football without him either. There is nothing left for me to push all my football energy behind. There will be no more reevaluations of his career on a weekly basis, no more talk of he can't win the big one, no more thoughts on how every action, every drive, every throw would reflect on the way we ultimately view his career. No, that is all gone - but where does that leave me?
Of course, I've dealt with this before. In 2011, Peyton Manning sat out the whole season with neck injuries, the future of his career very much in doubt (the fact that he played four more years - three of them at a spectacular level - is something that needs to be more fully examined when his career is far enough in the rear-view mirror), but that was different. Defending Peyton Manning became an even bigger duty that season, trying to remind people he is still around, he is still relevant. He isn't now but a memory, a player to compare other younger, newer players to. A signpost of NFL history.
Yet in a way, this is exciting, sitting on the precipice of a season without that level of emotional attachment. I am, or once, an unfettered football fan. Sure, I'll have my teams that I'll support and root for, my storylines that I will like to see come to fruition. And of course, that's that black hole of evil up in Foxobor I'll willingly root for at least one team to vanquish in January each year. But that is still far less draining, both emotionally and physically, than rooting for Peyton. I love the Raiders and Colts, and I like the stories that are building in Carolina, or Arizona, or Cincinnati, but I lived Peyton Manning, and that is a key difference.
I'm excited for this season simply because I won't have to care as much. I've already decided not to shell out the $200 for SundayTicket.tv (I may end up doing this, but at least I considered not). I've decided to try out my theory of just taping RedZone and the SundaY Night game and skimming through all of them between 7 PM and midnight each Sunday. I've already relented to taking more trips during weekends in NFL season than ever before. I'm done having this sport rule 20 Sundays a year.
The 2016 NFL Season is the beginning of a new era for the league, it is Year 1 Post-Manning, as he with Brady have basically owned the past 15 years of the NFL. Things will be different, both for the league and for myself, and I can't wait to get started. I can't wait to watch the NFL without the weight of Manning's legacy looming over everything, for that dreadful feeling of nothing mattering until January, of that awful feeling of fighting for a losing cause ruining what should be the entertainment gained by watching a game. I can now experience that, as an outsider, without a true horse in the race. I am free to experience it all. I'm glad to no end Peyton Manning got his ride off into the sunset, with that second ring. But I'm more glad he stepped away and broke my personal chains of NFL loyalty, allowing me to watch this great sport free.
I spent most of the past 13 years as a football fan watching him play, but more than that, defending his status as a great player, that people should not judge careers only on how many titles they win, that Peyton Manning should be universally respected, that he does not have an inability to win in the playoffs. I spent to much time defending him and more than that hoping for him, hoping he would get another chance to win over everyone. Slowly but surely, I realized that this was a fool's errand, that no matter what happens there will be detractors and haters so locked in their own jail of their own simplistic football mind that will never change their mind. But still, I wanted him to win. And then he won. And then he retired. And here I am, trying to think of I how my life as a football fan will proceed.
In less than two weeks the NFL will kick off a season without Peyton Manning, and I will kick of a season of watching football without him either. There is nothing left for me to push all my football energy behind. There will be no more reevaluations of his career on a weekly basis, no more talk of he can't win the big one, no more thoughts on how every action, every drive, every throw would reflect on the way we ultimately view his career. No, that is all gone - but where does that leave me?
Of course, I've dealt with this before. In 2011, Peyton Manning sat out the whole season with neck injuries, the future of his career very much in doubt (the fact that he played four more years - three of them at a spectacular level - is something that needs to be more fully examined when his career is far enough in the rear-view mirror), but that was different. Defending Peyton Manning became an even bigger duty that season, trying to remind people he is still around, he is still relevant. He isn't now but a memory, a player to compare other younger, newer players to. A signpost of NFL history.
Yet in a way, this is exciting, sitting on the precipice of a season without that level of emotional attachment. I am, or once, an unfettered football fan. Sure, I'll have my teams that I'll support and root for, my storylines that I will like to see come to fruition. And of course, that's that black hole of evil up in Foxobor I'll willingly root for at least one team to vanquish in January each year. But that is still far less draining, both emotionally and physically, than rooting for Peyton. I love the Raiders and Colts, and I like the stories that are building in Carolina, or Arizona, or Cincinnati, but I lived Peyton Manning, and that is a key difference.
I'm excited for this season simply because I won't have to care as much. I've already decided not to shell out the $200 for SundayTicket.tv (I may end up doing this, but at least I considered not). I've decided to try out my theory of just taping RedZone and the SundaY Night game and skimming through all of them between 7 PM and midnight each Sunday. I've already relented to taking more trips during weekends in NFL season than ever before. I'm done having this sport rule 20 Sundays a year.
The 2016 NFL Season is the beginning of a new era for the league, it is Year 1 Post-Manning, as he with Brady have basically owned the past 15 years of the NFL. Things will be different, both for the league and for myself, and I can't wait to get started. I can't wait to watch the NFL without the weight of Manning's legacy looming over everything, for that dreadful feeling of nothing mattering until January, of that awful feeling of fighting for a losing cause ruining what should be the entertainment gained by watching a game. I can now experience that, as an outsider, without a true horse in the race. I am free to experience it all. I'm glad to no end Peyton Manning got his ride off into the sunset, with that second ring. But I'm more glad he stepped away and broke my personal chains of NFL loyalty, allowing me to watch this great sport free.
