The Super Bowl was finally here. Across campus, hordes of screaming students huddled around their televisions and stuffed their faces with hot wings, pizza and other classic college delicacies in order to get into the spirit for the big game. It was a matchup that any sane football fan could have been content with: Peyton Manning’s Broncos vs. the mighty Seattle Seahawks defense.
Despite the bevy of other star players taking the field that evening, Manning was still the epicenter of all the attention. Questions loomed left and right throughout the sports world about what to expect out of No. 18 on this historic night. “Is he going to retire after this?,” “Can the Seahawks stop his passing game?,” “Does this cement his legacy as the greatest?”
After Denver’s crushing loss in Super Bowl XLVIII, most of those questions are a blur.
Manning has lost a Super Bowl before, but at least in that one he had points on the board at halftime. This game, he looked as if he were a dazed freshman at Tennessee again, not the 2013-14 NFL MVP that we’d been accustomed to. Quite simply, he looked out of sync and extremely affected by all the hype and frenzy.
You’d have thought that his 25-year- old counterpart, Russell Wilson, would have been the one to melt under the pressure. Playing in his first Super Bowl and second season overall, he could have easily succumbed to the intense expectations. Wilson, whose personal motto is “why not me?,” looked instead like a brigadier general swiftly matching his troops through battle.
Granted, Manning did not have a “bad” game statistically (34/49 completions for 280 yards). However, it was his inability to make big plays that baffled most. Most of the game, Manning was throwing short dump passes to Demaryius Thomas and Knowshon Moreno–with many of the drives ending with Broncos punter Britton Colquitt booting it away. Aside from a powerful strike to Thomas for their only touchdown, Manning looked unimpressive.
Ironically enough, Manning’s 43-8 loss has striking parallels to John Elway’s 55-10 Super Bowl loss to the 49ers in 1989. Elway eventually went on to win two Super Bowls at the ripe age of 37 (the same age as Manning now).
Future speculations aside, where does Manning’s legacy stand right now? He’s unquestionably the greatest passer of all time, one of the smartest to ever play and has arguably the best overall statistics. But do statistics alone define greatness?
It’s tough to call.
Dan Marino is a Hall of Fame quarterback with very similar statistics as Manning, and he didn’t win any Super Bowls. At least Manning has one, right?
Manning’s legacy isn’t as tarnished as people might think. Sure, it would’ve helped if he had cemented another Super Bowl victory, but let’s not forget that Manning had the most impressive season of his career at the age of 37. Elway was 0 for 3 going into Super Bowls until he finally won two of them in his upper thirties.
This isn’t the last of Manning and it is definitely not an embarrassment to his legacy. According to ESPN.com, Manning was baffled by critics who called his loss a travesty.
“It’s not embarrassing at all, I would never use that word. The word ‘embarrassing’ is an insulting word, to tell you the truth,” he said to the media after the game.
It’s true that Manning was not himself in Super Bowl XLVIII. It’s also true that he could have been better and probably should have been more on top of things.
However, there’s no need to be hasty and start attacking his personal legacy. Championships are a vital component to a player’s ultimate recognition, but they are not the be all, end all. Manning still has two or three more chances at another ring and at this moment is probably figuring out how he’ll be even better next season. One ring or five, Manning’s legacy still shines bright.
Griffin Guinta can be reached at griffin.guinta@theminaretonline.com.