I’m not really much of a football fan,
Luckily, it’s 2008 so I can offer up that confession without fear of reprisal or any intimation that my manhood might be in question.
Hey, I can channel surf, refuse to ask for directions when lost and pretend I’m listening to women when I’m really not with the best of em’.
I’ve just never been much of a football fan.
Through the years, I’ve written a punch line/justification or two.
Like…I know nothing about professional football. I’m from New Orleans.
But, the fact is that I was never much of a jock at all. I played Little League baseball and flag football during the Wonder Bread years, but my passions were always more cerebral.
Reading, writing, thinking.
You know, all the stuff that makes you a geek when you’re in high school, but doesn’t become impractical forty years later when your body starts to wear out.
Having shared that, though, I hasten to add that I can enjoy a fine game once in a while.
This year’s Super Bowl fit the bill.
It had it all… drama, suspense, action, adventure, sex…
Well, okay, no sex.
But I imagine we’re all grateful on a number of levels that Tom Petty didn’t have any wardrobe malfunctions.
The big story, of course, is the come from behind, underdog beat the favorite while spoiling their perfect season, quarterback coming out from the shadow of his famous older brother victory of the New York Giants.
Actually…not.
I’ll grant you that it’s a plot right out of TV Movie Of The Week heaven, this business of Eli Manning coming into his own and out from the “shadow” of big brother Peyton.
Not to mention the way it all came about.
Big brother goes to the Super Bowl and leads his team to victory, winning the MVP Award.
Little brother goes to the Super Bowl the following year and literally follows in the footsteps.
Wow…I bet the Baldwin brothers are sorry they’re too old to be cast.
Or that they aren’t really all that talented.
But I digress.
The big story, subtext lovers, is family.
And what family means in this era of single parent households and traditional values being re-defined.
The story begins, of course, with Archie Manning.
High school football star, college superstar, Heisman Trophy winner (more than enough good karma to take the OJ Simpson tarnish off that award), highly desired pro draft pick…
And then he pretty much used up what chops he had trying to get the New Orleans Saints off the ground in the seventies.
Hence my one liner about not knowing anything about professional football.
Not to worry.
The pigskins don’t fall far from the goalpost in this family.
Enter Peyton and Eli.
And as Mr. Harvey says, “now you know the rest of the story.”
Not yet.
Peyton and Eli are the middle and youngest child, respectively.
There is an oldest brother.
His name is Cooper.
And he has a story all his own.
Take a minute to read it and then I’ll wrap things up here.
http://www.sptimes.com/2004/11/07/Sports/The_other_Manning.shtml
Pretty cool, huh?
There were a lot of great moments, naturally, in this Super Bowl game. And if you watched it, you surely have your own memories already recorded and logged.
Amazing catches, fine passes under pressure, defenses that worked hard and kept the scoring low.
A whole long catalog of visual moments to cherish in the years to come.
For me, long after any images of passes, catches, touchdowns, extra points and miracle plays in the clutch have faded, I will remember one very striking visual.
As Eli Manning connected with his receiver for what turned out to be the winning touchdown, the TV camera cut to a shot of Peyton Manning, discreetly behind smoked glass, watching his little brother accomplish what he himself had accomplished just a year earlier, clapping his hands together in an applause that lacked finesse, but telegraphed every single emotion he was feeling at that moment.
Number one among them, pride.
And rightly so, because no one in their right mind can deny that this family has plenty to be proud of.
But, something tells me that, when the hype fades and the two brothers' thoughts begin to turn ever so subtly to next season and what new mountains they will face, they will both set out to climb those mountains with hearts full of pride at the brother the rest of us never see.
The older brother who climbed his mountains without fanfare or accolade.
And who, together, in a world where values are often in turmoil, make all of us find ourselves cheering and believing.
In family.
Luckily, it’s 2008 so I can offer up that confession without fear of reprisal or any intimation that my manhood might be in question.
Hey, I can channel surf, refuse to ask for directions when lost and pretend I’m listening to women when I’m really not with the best of em’.
I’ve just never been much of a football fan.
Through the years, I’ve written a punch line/justification or two.
Like…I know nothing about professional football. I’m from New Orleans.
But, the fact is that I was never much of a jock at all. I played Little League baseball and flag football during the Wonder Bread years, but my passions were always more cerebral.
Reading, writing, thinking.
You know, all the stuff that makes you a geek when you’re in high school, but doesn’t become impractical forty years later when your body starts to wear out.
Having shared that, though, I hasten to add that I can enjoy a fine game once in a while.
This year’s Super Bowl fit the bill.
It had it all… drama, suspense, action, adventure, sex…
Well, okay, no sex.
But I imagine we’re all grateful on a number of levels that Tom Petty didn’t have any wardrobe malfunctions.
The big story, of course, is the come from behind, underdog beat the favorite while spoiling their perfect season, quarterback coming out from the shadow of his famous older brother victory of the New York Giants.
Actually…not.
I’ll grant you that it’s a plot right out of TV Movie Of The Week heaven, this business of Eli Manning coming into his own and out from the “shadow” of big brother Peyton.
Not to mention the way it all came about.
Big brother goes to the Super Bowl and leads his team to victory, winning the MVP Award.
Little brother goes to the Super Bowl the following year and literally follows in the footsteps.
Wow…I bet the Baldwin brothers are sorry they’re too old to be cast.
Or that they aren’t really all that talented.
But I digress.
The big story, subtext lovers, is family.
And what family means in this era of single parent households and traditional values being re-defined.
The story begins, of course, with Archie Manning.
High school football star, college superstar, Heisman Trophy winner (more than enough good karma to take the OJ Simpson tarnish off that award), highly desired pro draft pick…
And then he pretty much used up what chops he had trying to get the New Orleans Saints off the ground in the seventies.
Hence my one liner about not knowing anything about professional football.
Not to worry.
The pigskins don’t fall far from the goalpost in this family.
Enter Peyton and Eli.
And as Mr. Harvey says, “now you know the rest of the story.”
Not yet.
Peyton and Eli are the middle and youngest child, respectively.
There is an oldest brother.
His name is Cooper.
And he has a story all his own.
Take a minute to read it and then I’ll wrap things up here.
http://www.sptimes.com/2004/11/07/Sports/The_other_Manning.shtml
Pretty cool, huh?
There were a lot of great moments, naturally, in this Super Bowl game. And if you watched it, you surely have your own memories already recorded and logged.
Amazing catches, fine passes under pressure, defenses that worked hard and kept the scoring low.
A whole long catalog of visual moments to cherish in the years to come.
For me, long after any images of passes, catches, touchdowns, extra points and miracle plays in the clutch have faded, I will remember one very striking visual.
As Eli Manning connected with his receiver for what turned out to be the winning touchdown, the TV camera cut to a shot of Peyton Manning, discreetly behind smoked glass, watching his little brother accomplish what he himself had accomplished just a year earlier, clapping his hands together in an applause that lacked finesse, but telegraphed every single emotion he was feeling at that moment.
Number one among them, pride.
And rightly so, because no one in their right mind can deny that this family has plenty to be proud of.
But, something tells me that, when the hype fades and the two brothers' thoughts begin to turn ever so subtly to next season and what new mountains they will face, they will both set out to climb those mountains with hearts full of pride at the brother the rest of us never see.
The older brother who climbed his mountains without fanfare or accolade.
And who, together, in a world where values are often in turmoil, make all of us find ourselves cheering and believing.
In family.
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