On this weeks Sports Illustrated cover, you'll find Peyton made the cover for the ninth time. The magazine has a very good article in it by Peter King.

This issue of SI also attempts to rank the football players. Any idea who they rank #1? Peyton, of course. That was my thought, as you can see from my previous article, but I'll admit I'm a little biased. It's good to see Peyton getting his due.

The magazine also pointed out that Peyton might be the best ever when all is said and done. I agree that is possible, but he really needs to put together another 5 to 7 strong years to break Marino's records and hopefully the Colts can win another Championship or three during that time as well.

Anyhow, it's a great article. Check out the magazine in your local bookstore or online at:
Sports Illustrated

OK, maybe my cheer is a little annoying, but Peyton Manning is far and away my favorite athlete. It's not just his playing ability that leads me to admire Manning, but that is a big part of it. Here are three reasons to admire Peyton.

First, Peyton is the best player in the NFL right now. I hear all you Tom Brady guys yelling right now about the three Super Bowl's Tom Brady won. Look, I love Tom Brady. Michigan is my favorite college football team, but New England won those Super Bowls. Do you think they would have lost if they had Peyton? I don't. I think they might have won another.

What about LT? Tomlinson is awesome! But he doesn't have the body of work Peyton does with only six years in the league. He's also rushed for under 4 yards per carry in two of those seasons. Tomlinson is the best back in the league and wll go down as one of the all-time greats, but Peyton is a half notch better right now.

The second reason for admiring Peyton is he brought a Super Bowl to the Colts. This is a selfish reason, but as a lifelong Colts fan, I've endured some pretty embarrassing teams. The Colts had John Elway tell them he wouldn't play for them before he even played a down in the league.

The Colts wouldn't have even been able to draft Peyton without those embarrassing years and the Super Bowl victory wouldn't have tasted as sweet without them, so I guess I'm glad they had some lean years. Watching the team mature under Peyton's leadership has been a joy. I'm looking forward to watching where he leads his team in the future as well.

Finally, Peyton should be admired for being a good role model. Is Peyton perfect? No. Has he had issues? Yes? Peyton had an issue with a female reporter when he was in college, but it was very minor especially in comparison to some of what goes on in sports these days. Also, he's been a good citizen since that mistake (which he owned up to) in his early years.

Peyton is very active in his community and has set up a charitable foundation. Manning is an asset to his community and is someone I'm glad that my eight year old son looks up to.

There you have it. Those are the reasons I admire Peyton Manning. Enjoy what's left of this hall of fame career. I'm not sure we'll see another guy like him again.

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Doesn't that feel good?