Peyton Manning? Who?

I was new to NFL and had no clue who was whom when it came to the sport.  With a partner who is not quite obsessed, but burgeoning on it, I decided that perhaps it was time to take an interest.

So yes, I have been living under a rock, and I know nothing about the sport.  All I knew was that Tom Brady was the luckiest man on earth.  Being one of the best quarterbacks of the game and married to one of the hottest woman on earth, the envy of men all around the world.  In my mind, David Beckham has nothing on Brady.  And not being American, I was unfamiliar with how prolific the Manning boys are in American pop culture (especially in commercials).

One night, after a long intellectual discussion about burping habits and who’s who in my gym world, we ventured into the tricky territory of “the one person, dead or alive, you’d want to have dinner with”.  This is tricky for a new relationship, it’s telling of how idiotic, insufferable your partner can actually be based on their selection.  For example:

• Albert Einstein – pretentious;
• Albert Einstein – intellectual;
• Albert Einstein – superficial;
• Albert Einstein – open and eager to learn;
• Albert Einstein – explorer of the universe.

It ultimately is about the motive behind you have chosen that person to have dinner with.

Boyfriend thought about it long and hard, because he understood the significance of this question.  His answer, after a couple of minutes of mumbling incoherent names as potential candidates, was “Peyton Manning”.

“Who is Peyton Manning?”  I asked, after all, I am only familiar with drug ads when it comes to the US television watching experience.  You know, the dude at the end of each drug ad that quickly informs you that erectile dysfunction is a possible side effect, he always got my attention.

“He’s a quarterback for the *blah blah*, he’s one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, and all round good guy.”  Boyfriend answered lovingly, about Manning, not towards me.

“Cool.  Is he black?  He sounds black.”  I ask with a gleam of hope in mind.  I have this image of a Boris Kodjoe type, I could spend years perving happily on Boris.

Boyfriend looked at me as though I am an idiot.  “No… he’s white.”  Much to my disappointment. Since Brady was the white gorgeous quarterback, I just assumed that Manning wasn’t going to be a looker, otherwise, he’d be prolific in pop culture.  I have always supported sport based on the ‘talent’ on the field or court, not the actual talent.

There was a lot of blah blah from Boyfriend about how great Peyton is, how he’s a total superstar and gentleman on the field, always studying and making sure that he’s on top of everything.  A natural born leader, there was just a lot of blah blah.  My eyes glassed over, and I smiled accordingly, wishing we were still talking about the art of burping (not literally, but you get my gist).

Then, one day, as I was youtubing my way through Tom Brady interviews, I came across one of Peyton Manning.  The name sounding familiar, so, I clicked and quickly became hooked. With every ad, interview, and candid clip I watched, the more I started to admire the man.

His talent on the field was clear, even to a novice such as myself, that he was just brilliant at the game.  His quiet dignity, his endurance and his love of the game obvious.  Perhaps he has the best PR manager of all time, but the man is something to behold.  And I understood why Boyfriend chose Peyton.  My favourite is the Fantasy Football rap, if you can call it rap.

But, it wasn’t until The Book of Manning, that I truly appreciated Peyton, and fell heads of heels in awe of the man.  As a 3 year old, he’s showing great athleticism.  Sure, he’s crying to his father, Archie, about being unfairly tackled by 6 year old Cooper and Cooper’s 7 year old friend, but you know what, it makes for brilliant viewing. Go Archie! You keep that camera rolling.

The 2014-2015 was the first year I followed NFL.  Boyfriend chose his team based on his favourite quarterback, I chose mine based on best looking quarterback. No prizes for guessing who won there.  My system won of course.

Irrespective of which team I want to be the winner, I still supported Peyton’s team.  There is something about the way he plays the game, and how he carries himself.  In a world where we elevate athletes as role models, there are few who actually stand up to scrutiny when we examine them as a person.

Is Peyton truly a good man?  Seems like it, and I’m really hoping the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.  Because I think that Archie is a good man.  Now, here’s a man that I have now come to idolise.  The way he separated the game from his family life, the way he conducted himself on and off the field has stood the test of time.  His parenting style is different to what you would expect from a pro-athlete, he was not a pushy father, making them follow his legacy, his three boys were to choose their own paths.

A truly telling moment of Archie’s parenting was when he saw a young Peyton yelling at his coach.  Archie made Peyton apologise to the coach, irrespectively that Peyton was right or not.  It was not Peyton’s place to yell at his coach, teaching his sons that you will always treat people with respect, regardless of how under pressure you are or who you are.  An important lesson that shaped a young Peyton.

So now, whenever someone asks me who my favourite athlete is, I say: Archie Manning.  He’s the old dude in the Manning brother commercials.  You know, the one who can’t act and just seems like he’s there for fun, that’s him. Wanna see who I’m talking about?

This next season may be Peyton’s last, I truly hope that he is able to lead his team to the Superbowl.  Irrespective, I will watch every game with enthusiasm, yelling at the TV and dancing around in victory.  I now have an In Your Face dance which I like to whip out for these occasions.  I am a bad winner, but a dignified loser.

For the record, my pick is Dame Helen Mirren.  Why?  She’s awesome!  That’s why.  Need you ask?  She’s a feminist, she’s a lady, she wears whatever shoes makes her feel comfortable (sometimes, that’s stripper heels which cost less than $50 to the Oscars) and she swears like a sailor.  She’s intelligent, well spoken and doesn’t take herself too seriously.  She’s an Oscar winner, she’s also had a career that’s spanned 50 years.  And, she’s aging gracefully, giving the finger to the pressures of Hollywood to inject, pull and peel.

Which famous figure from history or the present would you like to have dinner with?  And why?