Magic- Bird, Yankees-Dodgers, Red Wings- Avalanche, Oklahoma-Nebraska…great rivalries of a bygone era. Wilson-Kaepernick and Cabrera-Trout look to be ones of the future. We appear to be witnessing the passing of another. We have one maybe two more times depending on doctor’s diagnosis, to witness the greatness of one of the ultimate NFL great rivalries. Peyton Manning V. Tom Brady.
It doesn’t matter which side of the rivalry you fall on, you took a side. We took a special joy when one lost and the other won. We used the rivalry to show which quarterback was ‘better’ or to justify why the other couldn’t do things. The NFL itself knew what they had with the Manning-Brady rivalry. Every year they saw to it that even though the Colts were in the Midwest and the Patriots were in the East, they scheduled Patriots v. Colts, always in prime time, always witnessing the greatness of two hall of famers going head-to-head.
Brady has the head-to-head edge but Manning did have to defeat Brady to get to his only Super Bowl rin. Manning had the passing records over Brady, Brady has the rings. Very few tickets are worthy of being scalped for the promise of what may happen. Most events are scalped for the promise of the event. Super Bowl, World Series etc. but Brady and Manning always lead to good games, exciting finishes and games that are still being talked about almost 10 years after their first occurrence.
As we see Manning come off neck surgery 2 years ago, having to get it reassessed this year not even mentioning he’s 37 and Brady 36 with a bad knee, the end for these two is closer than the beginning. I never took the time to take it in as a fan, instead I used the game to assess the argument of who was “better”. Sunday, I will take the time to enjoy two of the best of our era throw the ball around and lead one of their teams to victory. Realizing that this may be the last, we should enjoy watching two legends do what they do best. I suggest you do that too…it will make the game more fun and give you a chance to see the game as a historian.
