Super Bowl XLIV

The list of sites I read on a daily basis grows smaller and smaller with each passing day.  Before today, I was an avid reader of sites like S.I., ESPN, Fox Sports, and various blogs including Deadspin and KSK.  Lately, I find myself completely annoyed with anything written on those sites, and it has nothing to do with the fact that the Colts lost the Super Bowl.  The latter two were merely for entertainment purposes, but even they have run their course — one can only read so many posts making fun of Peter King or an impersonation of a ignorant Boston sports fan before you sit there confused while asking yourself, “Was that supposed to be funny?  Because it wasn’t.”

The rave in the media post-Super Bowl upset is how Peyton Manning is to blame for the loss, Peyton Manning threw the game losing pick-6, Peyton Manning’s legacy is tarnished, Peyton Manning is a choker, blah blah blah.  Excuse me, but what the hell are you people snorting?  The two weeks prior to the actual game the only thing we heard from people in the media was how great Peyton is, now all of the sudden because the team he plays for lost the Super Bowl he has reverted back to a choker?  I thought he shed that label when he won finally won a Super Bowl?  Clearly I was wrong.

Right off the bat, I would like to debunk a few myths about this past Super Bowl loss.

First off, Peyton Manning is the last person who should be blammed for that pathetic performance the Colts displayed this past Sunday.  He did what he’s done all year long and that’s carry his team up and down the field, giving them the best opportunity to win the game.  Is it Peyton’s fault that Pierre Garcon has a case of the dropsies on key plays?  No.  Garcon has shown all season long he tends to lose concentration and allows a perfectly thrown pass to slip right through his fingers.  Bill Polian came to Garcon’s defense however, stating that Pierre got “jacked” at the line of scrimmage, which is just as ridiculous as stating Peyton’s legacy is tarnished.  So what if he got jacked off of the line?  The freakin ball hit him right in the hands.  There’s no excuse for that.

What about the pick-6?  Well, let’s take into consideration that this entire offensive scheme is based on timing and being in the right place at the right time — neither of which were executed by Reggie Wayne.  That interception will forever go down in infamy as “Peyton choking in the big game again,” but that couldn’t be farther from the truth.  The truth is, Reggie ran a horrible route, allowing Tracy Porter room to run in and undercut the route and subsequently intercept the ball.  There’s nothing Peyton could do about that.  The only thing they Peyton is responsible for in that situation is perhaps running a different play.

And lastly, the final pass of the Super Bowl — yet again not Peyton’s fault.  Go check the replay people.  Apparently whatever Pierre has is contagious, because that ball was money, just like every other pass Peyton Manning threw all night long.  The receiver — in this case Reggie Wayne again — didn’t make the catch.  It is debatable whether Reggie would have even made it into the endzone had he not dropped the pass, but that’s a different dicussion all together.

What’s a guy to do when his big time receiver let’s him and the entire team down twice, on what ended up being the two most critical plays of the game?  Nothing.  There’s nothing he could have done in any of those circumstances.  So why should his legacy take a hit because of something he has no control over?  Clearly it shouldn’t.

To me, this Super Bowl loss does nothing to Peyton’s legacy.  Making it to the Super Bowl is a feat in and of itself.  There are only two teams worthy enough to play in the biggest game of the season — a game that every team sheds blood, sweat, and tears for just to reach, let alone win.  The sad fact of the matter is that only one team can win it, and unfortunately for us in Colts land, the Colts weren’t that team.

Before this past Sunday, the media was relentless in stating that Peyton couldn’t win the big one.  According to them, seemingly every game he plays is “the big one.”  While I understand just getting there isn’t what it’s all about, it still has to count for something.

Consider this:  Joe Montana has the best postseason stats of any quarterback ever, he is tied with Terry Bradshaw (ugh) for the most Super Bowl titles at four, and played in a style of offense that completely revolutionized the game of football.  He’s accomplished everything that the pundits and fans deems necessary for a quarterback in his career, but yet even he isn’t unanimously considered the greatest quarterback of all time.

Enough already.

Losing the Super Bowl does not alter one’s a legacy, especially not Peyton Manning’s while he is still in the prime of his career.

Did Tom Brady’s legacy take a hit when he went 18-1?  No.  Did Brett Favres’ legacy take a hit when he lost his second Super Bowl?  No.  What about John Elway?  He went winless in his first three Super Bowls but ended up winning back-to-back titles in the twilight of his career.  Did those first three losses he suffered in the Super Bowl tarnish his legacy? NO!

The argument that losing any game will spoil a legacy of any all-time great is just nonsense.  The topic itself is so subjective that I feel like anyone who tries to argue about it makes themselves look more foolish than anything.  If Dan Marino can be considered one of the greatest of all time with a 0-1 record in Super Bowl, then so can Peyton Manning.  Besides, the last time I checked, one is still greater than zero.