I'm not sure who I feel worse for: Peyton Manning...or Colts fans.In an ESPN SportsNation poll taken last week (and pictured to the right), 37 percent of Indiana participants voted that Peyton should play for another team rather than stay with the Colts.
Assuming the Indiana voters who participated in this poll are Colts fans, this means that more than a third of Indy's fans are willing to let one of the most prolific quarterbacks in NFL history walk away from their franchise; almost 40 percent of Colts fans are accepting - perhaps even hoping - that this is the end of the Peyton Manning era in Indy.
What they likely don't realize is that there just might not be much to look forward to once Peyton is gone. That quarterbacks of his stature don't come along every day. That they shouldn't rest all of their hopes and aspirations for the franchise on the shoulders of an unproven rookie.
There's a reason why 37 percent of Indy fans are unable to see these realities. And I think we all know who's to blame.
Aaron. Rodgers.
There’s a lot to like about Aaron Rodgers, and there's no questioning how enjoyable he is to watch – on the field, on the sideline, on stage with Justin Timberlake at the ESPYs. I can't wait for him to host SNL (and apparently, 19,508 people on Facebook agree).
His striking resemblance to BJ Novak (who plays Ryan Howard on The Office) certainly doesn't hurt his likeability factor too much either.Most importantly, Aaron Rodgers gives Patriots fans like myself hope that there can be life after Brady, which is particularly important at a time like this, when it's virtually impossible for us to escape those torturous "Bradying" images.
However, there haven’t been two Hall of Fame-caliber quarterbacks to play for the same team in the same era like this since Joe Montana and Steve Young in San Francisco – and to a much lesser extent, Bob Griese and Dan Marino in Miami (a city that, oddly enough, seems to understand and appreciate the rarity of truly outstanding QBs).
Since this sort of scenario happens so infrequently (perhaps only once a generation), is the tremendously successful emergence of Aaron Rodgers as Brett Favre’s replacement simply setting Pats and Colts fans up for disappointment? What are the chances that either New England or Indy can bring in a quarterback who is just as - if not more - likeable and talented as Brady and Manning?
Has the precedent set by Aaron Rodgers put guys like Andrew Luck at a great disadvantage (in terms of making it impossible for them to live up to such high expectations)?
And with that in mind...
I find the 49ers/Packers quarterback parallels to be remarkable. The charmingly handsome men involved, the dynamic athleticism and team leadership skills, the pass vs. run playing styles, the accomplishments achieved over similar periods of time, etc., etc.But there is one major difference: the Montana vs. Young debate still exists. Fans remain split over who was the better QB.
Yet, despite the fact that Aaron Rodgers has started only a fraction of the number of games as Favre did, it seems that everyone has already appointed him the clear winner in the debate over which of the two is the better QB.Why is this? Is #12 more fun to watch than #4? Is it because Rodgers has accomplished more in his first 62 NFL starts than Favre did? Or is it because we cringe every time we hear that Favre is back in the news? Have Brett’s off-field antics and ostensible personality flaws given Aaron the likeability advantage by default?
I understand that – as we saw with the Tiger Woods scandal – American sports fans are willing to forgive the extramarital/sexual transgressions of their beloved sports figures. But will they forgive Favre for the childish way he left the team, for turning his back on the Packers faithful, for traitorously returning to Lambeau in a Vikings uniform? Boston never did forgive Roger Clemens for displaying similarly disloyal behavior.
More importantly, would Favre have been a team player in Week 17 and sat out the game, sacrificing his notable consecutive start streak to rest up for the playoffs? If history is any indication, then...probably not.
Perhaps Aaron Rodgers really is the better QB...But I have to wonder if Favre has just become so unlikeable that we're unfairly judging his on-field accomplishments based on his off-field actions.
