I have long admired quarterback Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts, ever since he played college ball for my alma mater, the University of Tennessee. He is the personification of everything good about the world of professional sports, a young man of enormous athletic ability who works hard to stay at the top of his game. Every season he seems to set new passing NFL records. Not only is he enormously gifted; his success derives as much from his intelligence and command of the game as from his physical skills. When the Colts visited San Diego last Sunday to take on the Chargers, I drove down from Los Angeles to watch him in person.
What surprised me most when I arrived at the stadium was to discover just how many people shared my adulation. Indianapolis is thousands of miles away, but the number of fans wearing blue and white jerseys with his name and number 18 on the back was amazing! They were everywhere!
Manning did not disappoint. The Colts' defense couldn't hold a ten point lead, but San Diego tied it up with 1:30 left. What were the Chargers thinking? Did they forget who was waiting patiently on the opposite sideline?
Peyton was facing fourth and inches with 27 seconds left at mid-field. Instead of a quarterback sneak, Peyton throws a 15 yard pass to set up the field goal that won the game. I couldn't believe he did that, but it worked. It was still another game-winning, last second drive engineered by Peyton Manning.
In a world full of irrationality, depravity, hopelessness and despair, witnessing such a display of superior ability is a genuine inspiration, a kind of emotional transfusion that reminds you about the possibilities of life. It was a rare thrill to watch him in action. This is a man who takes nothing for granted. He has truly earned all the accolades lavished upon him by his legions of fans, and I am proud to count myself as one of them.
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