Peyton Manning: A nice guy

I’m a Peyton Manning fan, although I confess that I wasn’t always a fan. When he played for Indianapolis, I remember yelling at the TV, complaining about that blankety-blank quarterback who was scoring so many points on Denver. But when he signed on with the Broncos, I took a closer look at the guy and the more I looked the more I concluded that he is really quite an admirable human being.

I read a number of small news stories showing what a decent guy he is, when time and again he demonstrated real kindness to people in distress. Sports Illustrated named Manning Sportsmen of the Year in 2013, an award usually given to a player who contributes greatly to his community. I watched him as he deftly handled news conferences, always showing consideration for his teammates and his opponents.

But what really impressed me about Manning was how he handled his troubles this year. He’s had a terrible year, so bad that in one of the couple of good games he had, a teammate commented that he had finally started playing like Peyton Manning. But then he had a disastrous game back in November against Kansas City, and in the third quarter he was replaced by young Brock Osweiler. Turned out Peyton had some substantial injury problems. He never complained about the actions of his coach and from all appearances fully supported his team, even when it seemed that he might never take another snap in the National Football League.

Then came the game against San Diego, perhaps the most crucial game of the year, one in which winning meant the No. 1 seed until the Super Bowl and losing meant being the No. 5 seed, meaning that every playoff game would have to be in some other team’s city. At first, things went well for Denver, but then the football gods frowned, and Denver squandered one scoring opportunity after another. Things continued badly into the second half and Denver found itself losing 13 to 7. My wife and I, watching the game at home, were frustrated and depressed, and I’m sure that every Bronco fan in the region was feeling the same way. It seemed, too, that the team was down, almost ready to accept that this just wasn’t their day.

And then – and I’m sure every person who watched this game remembers it – coach Gary Kubiak changed everything when he sent Manning in, replacing Osweiler. The crowd in Denver erupted in a frenzy of cheering, as if knowing, just knowing, that everything would be all right now. And they were right. Manning didn’t do anything flashy, but everything he did was appropriate and effective. Before you knew it, Manning had led the team to 20 points of offense, good enough even to withstand a breakdown of the Denver defense that allowed a quick and easy San Diego touchdown. Denver won and is now the No. 1 seed for the playoffs; all the games against Denver have to be played in Denver.

The whole episode was thrilling, one of the most satisfying things I’ve ever watched on TV. To see this good guy get his chance again and to come through so well was immensely pleasing.

Now, pro football is a mercurial game, and it’s impossible to know how Denver will do from here out. They may lose their first game or they may win the Super Bowl. But Peyton Manning finally got a little fairness this year from the game that he has played so wonderfully for so many years, and established that nice guys don’t always finish last.

John Davis was raised in Worland, graduating from W. H. S. in 1961. John began practicing law here in 1973 and is mostly retired. He is the author of several books.