If this is really it, there's something you should know...
As a Patriot, I'm glad to see you go. Even though we were 11-6 against you (at least in the games that really counted) and spent the better half of almost two decades beating you and your teams into submission, I can't seem to remember anything but the losses. The '06 AFC title game, the Sunday night Fourth and 1, every time we played you in Denver... ever. It was maddening to watch and still horrible to think about. You have single-handedly cost us at least 3 Super Bowl Rings and for that I will never forgive you. You infuriated me for so long that every fabric of my being wanted to hate you; but I couldn't.
I can't hate the Sprint Laser-Rocket Arm. I can't hate the F.O.Y.P. Rap guy (I can hate skinny legs and really high voice Peyton Manning. Those weren't your best). I can't hate the grown man walking the halls of ESPN kicking your brother in the butt or the United Way mentor that pegs kids in the head with footballs. I just can't hate Peyton Manning the person. You're too... you. Goofy, funny, intelligent, and an all-around nice guy. That's not the problem though. I don't mind not being able to hate the person. God says you're not supposed to do that anyways. The problem is that I can't hate Peyton Manning the football player either.
You were too damn good. I had to respect you. When Tommy Brady and the Boys weren't playing, I watched you. It didn't bother me that I watched, it bothered me that I rooted for you. No matter how many times you broke my heart by beating my Patriots, I kept coming back each week wanting you to succeed. You won and lost with class, and, no matter what, you worked hard. I've read a lot of articles about your preparation for games, each one examining your close attention to detail. You mastered your craft, and the league grew around you.
Watching you and TB12 go back and forth were some of the greatest memories of my childhood. Those games single-handedly made me want to be play quarterback (I guess my high school teammates and I can hate you for those painful memories. Although you share the blame with Tom for that). You two legends learned from each other and respected the hell out of each of your individual accomplishments. It was a competition, but more than that, it was a game among friends which made the rivalry both wonderful and terrible to watch. You made each other better. The NFL was booming when Tom Brady and Peyton Manning were at their best.
This past season we, the fans of the game, got to see a taste of the human side of you. We watched with strange feelings as age crept its way into your game. The physical gifts you were blessed with finally began to break down. It got to the point where some even questioned if you could throw a ball. Be that as it may, Peyton Manning remained the same. Your head was still 7 steps ahead of the defense. Your audibles could be heard through our TV screens, and your competitive fire was as strong as ever.
I knew the sleeping giant had been awakened when news broke that you would serve as the Broncos back-up quarterback upon your return from the foot injury suffered earlier this year. Couple that with the BS accusations of human-growth hormones and the world witnessed a very different Peyton Manning both on and off the field. After all that, there was no way "The Sheriff" was done yet. These two factions created a (pardon the comparison cliché) Tom Brady-sized chip on your shoulder that ignited the fire one last time.
In those final games, the nation saw what it could've looked like for Peyton Manning's talent to have Tom Brady's attitude. The stats may not have been great, but the emotion was clearly there. More yelling, more frustration, and more attitude from the normally mild-mannered funny guy.
When the whispers started about this being your final year, I had one unprecedented, tragically horrifying thought: I wanted you to win the Super Bowl. This was the first time I had ever thought about anyone other than Tom Brady winning a Super Bowl while the Patriots were still alive. I quickly buried the thought and cursed myself out for thinking it.
Watching the AFC Championship, I felt it wouldn't go our way. It was just one of those feelings. When the final whistle blew, I did something out of the norm. Normally, when the Patriots lose in the playoffs, I spend the next several hours weeping into a pillow, hollering out obscenities at whoever they played (You were not immune to that tradition). However, this time I sat there, tear-ducks dry, and watched as you made your way across the field. I had watched the handshake between you and Brady sixteen previous times. It was a meeting that is always brief with few words exchanged, but this seemed different. This meeting seemed to be taking a bit longer. I could tell by the look on Brady's face that this was the last one. Eleven times before Brady versus Manning went our way, but this time, this final time, it went your way.
In that moment, and in the subsequent time since, I've found myself thinking about the NFL after Peyton Manning. I was never getting to see another Brady versus Manning. Never being able to watch the magic you created on the field. Never being able to root and despise whichever team you played for. Never getting another shot at you in an AFC Championship so that Tommy could even that record out at 3-3. I had to come to terms with the fact that Sunday, against the Carolina Panthers, was the final game number 18 would play at quarterback. The NFL will never be the same without you.
So as a Patriot, yes, I am glad to see you go, but as a fan? As a washed up high school quarterback, and as a child that doesn't want to grow up... I've never wanted to see you go. People say all good things must come to an end, but I believe nothing ever really ends as long as you remember it. Anyone old enough to remember will never forget what is was like watching you play these seventeen incredible seasons over your eighteen year career.
Congratulations on your Hall of Fame career. Congratulations on your countless records, and your continuing success in whatever comes next. Congratulations on your second Super Bowl, Mr. Manning. There was no better way I could've seen this season going... for you.
"Heroes get remembered, but legends never die."
Goodbye to the legend. Goodbye to the man.
Goodbye, Peyton Manning
Sincerely,
A Patriots Fan
P.S. If you don't retire, I am going to be very upset.
P.P.S. None of this changes the fact I still really REALLY dislike Eli. Also, Tommy has 4 rings and is still 100% the G.O.A.T.
