I’m going to venture onto hallowed ground today. I’m going to write about Peyton.
With this being the week of Super Bowl XLVI – and in particular because this game is being played in Indy – the media is abuzz about the future of Indy QB (and Tennessee Vol alumnus) Peyton Manning. Will he or won’t he? Will he play? If so, will he play in Indy? If not, where WILL he play?
All of this coverage comes as a perfect storm brews. Manning, as you know, missed the entire 2011 season with a serious neck injury. He’s due a $28 million bonus if he is on the Indianapolis Colts roster as of March 8 and neither he, nor they, know if he would be able to play in 2012 or beyond. At the same time, the Colts have the #1 pick in the upcoming NFL draft and there is a phenom by the name of Andrew Luck waiting out there to be picked.
Like I said…perfect storm.
You probably saw the interview, tonight, that ESPN’s Trey Wingo did with Manning as he, and the Colts, prepare to serve as hosts for the big game on Sunday.
Reading the tea leaves, which admittedly is an inexact science, one of the two most likely options is that Peyton continues his NFL career but not in Indy. The second possibility, of course, is that his injury would force him to retire.
He says he feels that he is making progress and that much about his future will be sorted out in the near future.
If he were to leave Indy, NFL experts have mentioned four possible destinations for him including: the Arizona Cardinals, the Miami Dolphins, the New York Jets or the Washington Redskins (although you’d imagine at least half of the NFL teams would be lining up to sign a suddenly available free agent Peyton Manning). It’s all way too premature for any of that discussion.
However, this speculation dovetails nicely into a topic which has been a morbid curiosity of mine these last 14 years – the almost obsessive nature with which East Tennesseans have adopted, and rooted for, the Indianapolis Colts as THEIR team.
More on that in just a moment.
East Tennesseans love to call ones their own and, as such, East Tennessee media is super good at localizing any regional or national story. And when it comes to sports, they do this routinely.
My friend Ed and I have chuckled at how the News Sentinel will ALWAYS drop in the local reference. To wit:
St. Louis Cardinals, and former Tennessee Smokies, catcher Yadier Molina
Former New England Patriots, and Tennessee Vols, wide receiver Stanley Morgan
Green Bay Packers wide receiver, and Alcoa High School alumnus, Randall Cobb
(to mention just a few).
Their copy editors do it with regularity and without failure.
It’s a good practice, though, in this hyper niche media era in which localization is a key to survival. And there isn’t a national sports localization that is more prominent than the story of Peyton Manning and the local love for the Colts. I’ve never seen anything like the way this entire region has adopted a team that it has no other connection to (other than #18).
For example, former Vols Allan Houston and Bernard King had illustrious NBA careers, playing for a number of years with the New York Knicks. Still, you didn’t see Knoxville become an NBA town with waves of Knickerbocker fans. And in a like manner, though UT alum Todd Helton has had a long and storied MLB career with the Colorado Rockies. Still, this is a Braves Country. You don’t see tons of Rockies jerseys in Knoxville.
The case of Peyton – and the Colts – is amazing and unprecedented. What I find even more amazing is the fact that we have an NFL team located in the state and just a couple hours drive away and, still, East Tennesseans would prefer to pull for Peyton – and the Colts.
Don’t get me wrong. I root for Peyton. He’s a class act. And he’s been very supportive of this town and this University. Still, it’s hard to count the number of blue and white jerseys around town featuring the #18 (compared to the smaller number of Tennessee Titans shirts you see). And, as a Titans fan – divisional rivals of Indy – it would be much easier to root for someone if they weren’t trying to beat you two times every season.
Most folks around here disagree. But, what would they think if he is NO LONGER a Colt.
What then if Peyton should happen to go to continue his NFL career in the Valley of the Sun…serving as QB for the Arizona Cardinals? Could you really see an entire region swap their blue shirts for red? Or burgundy (if he should go to play for the Redskins) or green (if he signs with the Jets) or teal (if he takes his talent to South Beach to play for the Dolphins).
Or (insert new NFL team and new NFL color).
This won’t be the most noteworthy story coming out of media day at Super Bowl XLVI. But as the clock ticks toward that March xx deadline, it will be something to watch here in the Tennessee Valley.
And if Peyton winds up playing for another NFL team, it will be interesting to see if East Tennesseans will follow him and re-direct their rooting interests to another team.
One possibility, mentioned to Peyton by Wingo during the interview, how about Peyton to Tennessee?
Wow, that would be a happy ending for everyone!
JG
Additional Links:
http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=7524579
Originally posted 2/1/2012
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