Stand By Your Manning

In 1998, not long after the NFL draft, I purchased my first NFL jersey. While I’d always been a fan of football, I’d never really like a team enough to add their uniform to my wardrobe. The Rams had only been in St. Louis for three years at the time and were still a year away from “The Greatest Show on Turf” days, and their predecessor, the Cardinals, were 1,500 miles away in Arizona.

But on April 18, 1998, my allegiances swung to the Indianapolis Colts when they selected Peyton Manning with the number one overall pick. Manning had been my favorite player, regardless of sport, since his freshman year at the University of Tennessee. My uncle, who was living in Knoxville at the time, had told me to keep an eye on the youngster out of New Orleans who seemed poised to take over for the Volunteers.

While Manning was racking up records and awards at UT, I was in high school following along every step of the way. I lived with the successes and died with the failures, most of which came when the Volunteers played Florida.

As the draft approached, I had to listen to my friends chide me over how Washington State QB Ryan Leaf was going to be a better pro passer and how Manning couldn’t win the big game/never won the Heisman/had the personality of skim milk. But I stuck with Manning, which paid off when Leaf flaked out in San Diego and found himself gone from the NFL three years later.

As Manning’s career continued, I celebrated the success of the Colts, including the 2006 Super Bowl victory. But now, with Manning being released after 14 years with the team, I find myself with a dilemma. Do I continue to root for the team that I’ve followed for the past decade and a half, or do I follow my hero to wherever he lands next?

In reality, it’s not much of a question. I go where Manning goes. While I rooted for the Colts, Manning was always the driving force behind my fandom. When he was injured last season, missing the entire 2011-12 campaign, my interest waned for the team as if my connection to the Colts had disappeared.

The fact that the Colts probably could have been beaten by a fifth grade JFL team that year may have contributed to my disinterest, but the real reason stems more from my attitude toward sports that don’t involve a bat, a ball and a diamond. Baseball is my first love and other professional sports seem to take a back seat to the national pastime. While I am a die-hard St. Louis Cardinals fan year round, my support when it comes to other athletic endeavors centers around a singular player, whether it be Manning, or New Jersey Devils goalie Martin Brodeur, or former Vancouver Grizzlies big man Bryant “Big Country” Reeves.

So as this year’s draft approaches, the Colts will prepare to usher in the “next Peyton Manning” and close the book on the actual one, while I do the same in regards to my NFL fandom. And while I will follow Manning where ever he goes, whether he is wearing turquoise in Miami, burgundy in Washington, or black and white in the Oreos Double Stuff Racing League, I know that his best days are probably behind him, with age and the questions about his neck injury still lingering.

But whether he picks up his fifth MVP honor or goes out and throws ten picks in his first game, Manning will always be my favorite player. And I’d like to think that’s the meaning of being a fan, regardless of whether you’re rooting for one guy individually or 30 guys on a team.