You Can Break His Record but Not His Spirit

Over time— and yes, I’m shamelessly using the name of my blog to introduce this segment – it’s likely that every existing pro football career record will fall. Don Shula’s career coaching record might be the toughest to topple, but surely somewhere there is a young coach just waiting in the wings. But he’ll have to win a heck of a lot of games and coach a really long time to do so. But barring a losing record, coaching burnout, or an impatient owner, it is possible. But it’s not Shula “for whom the bell tolls” today, to quote Hemingway, but rather Peyton Manning.

I know there’s a lot of chatter out there about last Sunday’s game and how it’s too bad that Manning’s latest record came in a game where a football Superman looked merely mortal. Well, as you might expect, I have a different take on this.

A career record, whether it’s Shula’s career wins or Manning’s passing yardage mark, are the cumulative result of many wins and many yards passing. Sure when a career record falls there’s a specific moment in time when the pre-existing milestone is surpassed.  But when that happens what we’re really witnessing and hopefully celebrating is the completion of a long and arduous journey to that moment. As I tweeted from Denver when Manning eclipsed Brett Favre’s record on Sunday, it’s not about a play, a game or even a season, it’s about a remarkable Hall of Fame career.

Now, would it have been a better day for Peyton and his legion of fans, of which you can count me as one, if the Broncos had won? Sure, but here too, I have a different take. Peyton’s performance on Sunday should be remembered for what it really was. It was a gutsy demonstration of his tenacity and burning desire to win. Let’s face it, if you or I had a tear in our plantar fascia (I looked it up…it’s painful), we’d likely be home on the couch, with our leg elevated or wrapped with an ice bag, not running around dodging 320-pound defensive linemen. It was also one more example of Peyton’s character and proof that there is in fact an eternal flame that burns within his soul that makes him want to win again and again.

Let me also offer this. When you come to Canton, and I hope you do, and you look upon the football that Manning threw for his most recent record, remember this; that football doesn’t represent just that singular moment. It represents thousands of hours of hard work and preparation. It represents all of the players and coaches who were a part of his success. And it represents a lifetime of support from his family and friends.

Peyton Manning yards passing record football on display at @ProFootballHOF along with 7 TD game mementos. pic.twitter.com/Xwmha21jKa

— Joe Horrigan (@JoeHHOF) November 17, 2015

And finally, although I’m certain that someday all of Manning’s amazing records will be broken; I can assure you, the competitive spirit of this remarkable athlete will never be broken. That’s forever.

Super Bowl Rematch Update

Each week in my blog, I update the results of the Super Bowl rematches taken place throughout the season leading up to Super Bowl 50. Here they are through Week 10.