Why Tom Brady needed Peyton Manning
COMMENTARY
Oh my god. Here it is. After 15 years and soon-to-be 17 contests, we are finally — for real this time — about to witness the last chapter of the Tom Brady-Peyton Manning rivalry. Of course that’s what everyone’s said every single time these two have met for the last five years. Ever since Peyton missed the 2011 season, and there were concerns about his neck, and Ashley Manning suddenly got super into weight-lifting, there’s been enough speculation around Peyton’s demise that it constantly screams from the background. At this point you obviously can’t mention Broncos-Patriots without mentioning the Brady-Manning rivalry. But then you can’t mention the rivalry without mentioning that this might be the end of it. And you can’t mention the end of it without suddenly waking up in the middle of another tired Brady-Manning retrospective while everyone around you is like: “Really? Again? Come on — we get it.’’
And OK. That’s fair. But here’s the deal: If you’re reading this story there’s a very good chance that you have strong feelings about Tom Brady. You might even have strong feelings for Tom Brady. Either way it’s safe to say that you’re invested. You’re living somewhat vicariously through his success. The more that Brady accomplishes now, the easier it will be 20, 30, 40 years down the road to reflect and still feel pretty confident that the emotions and energy that you sacrificed for this one player and this one team was time well spent. That you witnessed something great. That really, you were part of something great. In that sense Brady’s legacy is your legacy. It’s New England’s legacy. And damn it if that legacy hasn’t been bolstered through the roof thanks to this rivalry with Peyton Manning. So let’s take a second, forget too cool for school and recognize what we’ve got.
Just think — where would Tom Brady be without Peyton Manning?
The first thought is that he’d have at least one more ring. If not for Manning’s comeback in the 2007 AFC title game, the Pats would have skipped into the Super Bowl and eaten Rex Grossman alive. But I’m not sure you can even break it down in those specifics. You can’t pick and choose games that may have been different because everything would be different. Without Manning the entire landscape of Tom Brady’s career would be unrecognizable, and you know what? Reality looks pretty good. Reality is already more than you could ever ask for. If you’re a Pats fan you’d be insane to change even one second of one game from the last 15 years, and Peyton is a major part of that.
Peyton Manning is to Tom Brady’s career what Peyton Manning’s forehead is to Peyton Manning’s body. It’s a protruding, undeniably defining characteristic that Patriots fans love to hate.
But its still love.
Beyond that you know that Manning helped and still helps drive Brady to become a better quarterback. Of course Brady would always find something to push him. Michael Jordan never had a rival like Manning, but that didn’t stop MJ from becoming the most maniacal and ruthless competitor that sports has ever seen. Brady’s got that in him. Motivation is never a problem. But thanks to Peyton, inspiration was non-stop and conspicuous. Manning always put up the big numbers. He stole all the headlines. He was the old boy media darling and dorky Middle American pitchman. Even during those back-to-back Super Bowl years, more regular season attention was always paid to Peyton and whatever records he was breaking and how this was the year that the Patriots dominance was ready to run out. And when the playoffs kept coming and the results didn’t change, the rules changed instead. Then came the second half collapse in the AFC Championship game. Then came Spy Gate. And then everything really changed.
Manning was always the establishment’s quarterback, but now Brady and the Pats were renegades. They were the bad guys. And in the eight years since, that’s manifested into a rivalry between Brady and Manning that isn’t even much of a rivalry. For one because they don’t actually play against each other. It’s not Bird-Magic. It’s more Pedro-Clemens. It’s more of a duel. And it’s also not much of a rivalry because Peyton barely wins. Brady’s taken 11 of 16 meetings. Brady’s won three more Super Bowls. He’s won 10 more and lost five fewer playoff games. Naturally Peyton has the edge in individual numbers, but Brady’s minimized the gap. If he can play another three healthy seasons he might retire with better numbers than Peyton. The point is that this isn’t a contest anymore. While you can still go back and forth debating the virtues of, say, Bird vs. Magic, in this case Brady’s in another class. Manning should throw in the towel but he’s afraid it will be intercepted.
Yet despite all this — despite the fact that Manning’s out there each week hobbling around like the Crypt Keeper. Despite the fact that Brady’s about to start his fourth consecutive AFC Championship game (one year after winning his fourth Super Bowl ring, and only weeks removed from leading the NFL in touchdown passes), No. 12 is right back where he’s always been. Staring down the country’s infatuation with Peyton Manning in the shadow of its resentment towards Tom Brady.
He knows that everyone in the league office is rooting for Peyton. He knows that both guys in the CBS booth are rooting for Peyton. He knows that pretty much every non-Patriots fan in the country will be sitting there on Sunday, rooting like hell for Manning to have one last swan song at the expense of the pompous Pats.
He knows that Peyton has never been more establishment than he is right now. He’s seen the struggles and this HGH story get swept under the rug. He sees how Peyton’s blindly and fiercely defended by the same shield that willingly stepped aside while Brady was bludgeoned by pitch forks. He’s sees all of this. And he feels all of this. And right now he’s got those feelings tucked away somewhere in his locker next to the inside out NFL logo shirts and the Make America Great Again hat, and he’ll be ready to unleash all that on Sunday afternoon.
And if that afternoon just so happens to finally — for real this time — mark the last chapter in the Brady/Manning rivalry, here’s special message for Peyton from the people of New England.
“Thanks.’’
Every matchup between Tom Brady and Peyton Manning
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