The NBA would like to think that Kobe and LeBron can compete with Tom and Peyton Plus Eight , but Kobe’s Colorado baggage, LeBron’s tattoo sleeves and childish behavior undercut their transcendent mainstream power to make America stop what it’s doing to watch them compete.
One man was a bigger star than Manning and Brady individually and collectively, and that man, along with the National Enquirer, his Swedish wife, a slew of attention-starved bimbos, a poorly positioned fire hydrant and TMZ, torched his reputation Thanksgiving night.
If Manning and the Colts win Sunday’s Super Bowl, he officially supplants Tiger Woods as our most revered and influential athlete. The NFL is already preparing for this eventuality. Colts owner Jim Irsay has vowed to redo Manning’s contract this offseason. A signing bonus eclipsing $50 million is likely.
And you think a lockout is a possibility?
The NFL has been working toward this moment for two decades. The league has geared its rules to make as many of its quarterbacks superstars as possible. There’s a reason a defender can’t hit a QB without first raising a hand and asking a ref for permission. There’s a reason John Madden and every other Madden wannabe spent/spend so much time hyping Favre, Manning, Brady, Brees and all the rest.
Quarterbacks move the needle. They have to be healthy and putting up big passing numbers to push ratings. The NFL figured out a long time ago it works best as a QB league rather than an RB league.
Favre and Manning can play for decades and never miss a game. They’re always in the playoffs.
Walter Payton, Barry Sanders, Earl Campbell, O.J. Simpson and Eric Dickerson — the five best running backs of the Super Bowl era — combined to play 53 seasons, and in those seasons they appeared in 29 playoff games, won 10, rushed for 100-plus yards six times and William “The Refrigerator” Perry has more Super Bowl TDs than all five of them.
Should we compare the great running backs to the great QBs of the Super Bowl era — Elway, Montana, Brady, Manning and Favre?
The numbers are stupid. Elway alone has 22 playoff games, 14 postseason victories, four 300-yard passing games and six postseason RUSHING touchdowns.
It’s a quarterback league. And now the NFL owns the biggest star (Manning) and brightest stars ( Tom and Peyton Plus Eight ) in all of sports.
There’s no Jordan, Magic, Bird, Tyson, Tiger, Gretzky or Bonds to steal attention away.
The NFL is going to ride Manning, 33, until the wheels fall off. If it doesn’t, Goodell will go down in history as an incompetent leader whose claim to fame was keeping strip clubs safe from Pacman Jones.
You can e-mail Jason at BallState0@aol.com or follow him on Twitter .