Ode Peyton Manning

The Superbowl was this Sunday and anyone who watched it knows what a horrible mess it was for non die-hard Seahawk fans. Not only was it non-competitive it was just flat out hard to watch.

Why? Because Petyon wasn’t having a great day. In fact by many standards he was having one of the worst professional days of his life.

Now let me say, I still love Petyon. I still consider him to be the best I’ve ever seen. I watched that Seattle defense and I knew in the first few minutes of the game he had no shot. They were completely overpowering his offensive line. Superman couldn’t have beaten that defense on that day. So this isn’t a post to defend him, or worry about what this means to his legacy or even football at all really.

This is about hard work and how sometimes it doesn’t pay off. No one works harder than Peyton. It’s a known fact in the NFL. First in, first out. Studies the game like no one ever has before or maybe ever will after. His work ethic is what made him so great. His ability to outthink and out strategize his opponent made him the best at what he did. Some say this season was the best regular season a quarterback has ever had ever. And he’s 37 years old – which is ancient in football years.

But he lost the big game. Not just lost…lost hard.

All that effort, all that work and didn’t pay off. It’s one of those lessons in life you have to remember and it lends itself to publishing very well. Sometimes you can work the hardest, but still not succeed. Sometimes the new kid on the block who hasn’t put in the time or the years… hits the bestseller right out of the gate.

I’m happy for the Seahawks. Happy for Seattle because it’s their first Superbowl win. I don’t begrudge them anything because they were the better team and they got what they deserved.

But I can take a moment to be sad that the person who put in all those years, and all that effort and all that work to reach the top, failed. Now has to start over again with potentially the same result next year. Because there are no guarantees.

Here is to you Peyton. And here is to those hard workers out there who just can’t seem to reach the top. Let’s not begrudge those who do, and let’s have the same sense of class and dignity in defeat as he had.