Peyton Manning is pure class

By Tom Quiner

Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos got their teeth kicked in as one-hundred million people watched.
I am a huge Peyton Manning fan. Wherever he plays, teams win. When Mr. Manning got hurt and missed a season with the Indianapolis Colts, a team that was always in the playoff hunt with double-digit wins, suddenly became a team with double-digit loses.
The loss of a singe player, Peyton Manning, turned the Colts from the best team in football  to the worst.
When Manning came back after incurring 4 neck surgeries, the Colts dumped him for a younger player. But the Denver Broncos wanted him, and Manning turned them into the team with the best record in football instantly … two years in a row!
How does he do it?
It seems he works harder than everyone else.  And his work ethic, this great American work ethic, rubs off on his teammates. Everyone gets better when Peyton Manning is around.
His career accomplishments for his profession are simply staggering.
When he wins, he gives credit to his teammates.
When he loses, he blames no one, unlike a certain president of the United States.
But here’s the thing about Peyton Manning, the thing that is so refreshing, so old-fashioned, so very decent: when he loses, he holds his head high, he takes his licks, and he is totally classy.
His team, a team I was pulling for, were destroyed on Super Sunday. An opposing player on the Seattle Seahawks, Richard Sherman, who is a very obnoxious person in victory as he demonstrated on national television two weeks ago, got hurt in the fourth quarter. He was on crutches at the end of the day.
Do you know what Peyton Manning did after suffering the single worst loss of his professional career? He went over to the other side to see if Richard Sherman was okay. Sherman had ranted against his opponents two weeks earlier when he had played a starring role.
He sang a different tune about Peyton Manning. Said Sherman:

“He was really concerned about my well-being. After a game like that, a guy who’s still classy enough to say ‘How are you doing?’ To show that kind of concern for an opponent shows a lot of humility and class. He’s a Hall of Fame player, he’s a living legend, he’s a record-holding quarterback, he’s a Super Bowl champion, he’s been a Super Bowl MVP. Peyton is the Classiest person/player I have ever met! I could learn so much from him! Thank you for being a great competitor and person.”

Yes, Richard Sherman can learn much from Peyton Manning, and perhaps he has.
Peyton Manning is all about graciousness in victory and dignity in defeat.
He makes everyone around him better, whether it’s his teammates or his opponents.
Kudos to Peyton Manning for a great season and for being a good role model for so many.
Congratulations to the Seattle Seahawks on an impressive Super Bowl victory.