As you may have heard, Peyton Manning makes his much anticipated return to Indianapolis this weekend, as the Denver Broncos take on the Indianapolis Colts in Lucas Oil Stadium — aka the House That Peyton Built.
You may have also heard Colts owner Jim Irsay complain that the Colts "only" won one Super Bowl during the Peyton Manning-Marvin Harrison heyday, whereas other teams with lesser offensive talent claimed more Lombardi Trophies in that time. I'm sure there are many a Colts fan who feel the same way, lamenting that they "only" won one.
To which I say, shut the hell up. Seriously. Do Irsay and the Indianapolis Colts fans realize how remarkably lucky they are? With the Colts franchise in disarray, Indianapolis secured the first overall pick in the 1998 NFL Draft. The Colts selected Peyton Manning from Tennessee, the consensus No. 1 pick and a guy who probably would have been the first pick had he come out the year before.
All Peyton did from there was become one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, turn the Colts into perennial powers, win a Super Bowl and give Indianapolis the most stable quarterback situation in football. How stable was Peyton? He was so good and so durable that the Colts didn't even carry three quarterbacks.
For 14 years, they didn't even have to consider drafting another quarterback. Then, bam, one injury, one bad season and one career closer to its end than its beginning … and the Colts get the No. 1 pick yet again. They select Andrew Luck, who is already one of the better quarterbacks in the league and who many believe will very quickly become the best in the business.
In 14 years, the Colts have only had to use a high draft pick twice on a quarterback, and both times they landed true greats. OK, maybe it's a little early to call Luck a great, but he sure as shit has all the makings of one. So to repeat, in 14 years the Colts have had to draft a QB high just twice, and they struck gold both times in Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck. You know how many teams, how many franchises would KILL for that? You know how many quarterbacks have been drafted in the first round or two and flamed out time and time again for the rest of the franchises in the league?
Oh, but Peyton only won one Super Bowl and now he's killing it in Denver. Woe is me! Shut up. Seriously. And just appreciate the incredible luck of landing the top overall pick twice when there was a once-in-a-generation talent at quarterback on the board.
Dallas Sucks.
On to the links …
Prince Fielder, The Running Man - The Classical
The 10 Greatest Anti-Riveras of the NHL (Ranked!) (Again!) - Grantland
Hater’s guide to the Dallas Cowboys (and why you should never date a Cowboys fan) - The700Level
Ranking The 10 Most Entertaining One-And-Done NFL Playoff Losses Of The Past 20 Years - Kissing Suzy Kolber
I Am Anonymous - Esquire
A grim discovery forever changes a young man's life - Philly.com
The Secret of Eli Manning - Grantland
Dallas Sucks.
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