Thanks for the Memories- You Can Leave Now
about the author
Greg Stelmach is from New Hope, Pennsylvania and is a sophomore at Delaware Valley College.
The world of professional sports is a business- that’s the sad truth that we as fans always have trouble accepting. To management, players are just depreciable assets, but to fans there is a more personal connection. Especially with the truly great players that play their whole careers with one team and become the faces of franchises. Players like Peyton Manning.
Peyton Mannings don’t come along that often. It’s not just his tremendous talent on the field, but what he means to Colts fans. Two decades ago the notion that the Colts franchise would ever have another quarterback who could rival Johnny Unitas was ridiculous. But along came Peyton in 1999. He was thrust into the starting job on a horrible team in a state where winter means basketball season, not football. He was the centerpiece of the transformation of the Indianapolis Colts from bottom-feeder into perennial AFC power. Before Peyton brought home Super Bowl XLI, the last championship team the city had was the Pacers… in the ABA.
He became a major part of the Indianapolis community, as his Peyback Foundation has helped disadvantaged youths in the state for over a decade. His commercials and Saturday Night Live appearances have made him one of the most likable athletes of the 21st century. Hell, I’m a die-hard Pats fan and even I have to admit I like the guy.
But that’s all in the past. Sports are all about ‘what have you done for me lately.’ Here’s the present: Peyton’s nerve damage may lead to a decline in his arm strength, assuming he can even make it back onto the field. He’s been away for so long that, at his age, he might not be able to compete at the level he used to. Plain and simple, Peyton may no longer be Peyton Manning.
Complicating matters further, the Colts have the top pick in a draft that has two elite quarterback prospects: Robert Griffin III and Andrew Luck. The Colts have said publicly that they will take Luck, and while that doesn’t make Peyton a definite goner, it certainly makes him expendable- especially since he has a $28 million bonus due at the start of the next season. The NFL has tough salary cap rules, so carrying two highly-paid quarterbacks is about as practical as two jockeys on one horse. All this makes this a very sensitive situation that demands careful management by the Colts.
Unfortunately owner Jim Irsay has handled this whole ordeal worse than Mitt Romney handled his tax returns. His unwillingness to either commit to Peyton or cut him, instead opting to keep him in the dark, is just disrespectful to a man that has done so much for the franchise. And when Peyton said that he doesn’t know whether or not he will retire a Colt, Irsay had the nerve to question his loyalty to the franchise. (And I thought Newt Gingrich calling himself a Washington outsider was zany.) But this is what happens in professional sports. It happened to Favre, and it happened to Montana. Both were replaced by pretty good quarterbacks, but at the cost of turning aside legends that had special places in their fans’ hearts.
Seeing this situation play out this way just makes me fearful for what may happen to Tom Brady in the coming years. Brady has transcended football to Pats fans. He’s been my idol since I was 10 years old, and Patriots football won’t be the same without him when he eventually calls it quits. But New England is notorious for letting money trump loyalty, so it is certainly conceivable he could play his last games outside of Foxboro. Nothing would hurt me more than to see Brady wearing number 12 for any other franchise. Personally, I wouldn’t give up the years I’ve had watching Brady for anything. I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to watch him play quarterback.
And I know Colts fans feel the exact same way about Peyton. We fans put up with ridiculous ticket prices. We buy the overpriced jerseys. We get that sports is a business. But when it comes to players like Brady and Manning, we can’t wrap our heads around management being so cold-blooded. Fans have strong relationships with their teams, so much that these legends become family. All fans want their teams to win, but we are often willing to sacrifice a year or two out of respect for a legend. It’s not rational, it’s not the most prudent economic decision, but it’s why sports are more than just a business to fans. Unfortunately, owners rarely feel the same.
