That’s what it was like being a Bronco fan this past year. We were drunk on our Natty Ice, refusing to admit that even though it got the job done, our mouths tasted like piss and our quarterback was a hideous passer whose team hit a hot streak during the weakest part of their schedule, then beat a crippled Steelers team to make what should have been a disappointing season into a memorable bright spot in an otherwise depressing decade of football. But still, it was one hell of a season. I had a great time watching Tebow flail around for three quarters and then somehow force Marion Barber to fumble and empower Matt Prater to hit two 50 yard field goals to complete improbable comeback after improbable comeback. It was entertaining, exciting, but ultimately unsustainable.
When it looked like we’d be stuck with Tebow for the foreseeable future, I tried to talk myself into it: “If he can just learn how to throw, he’ll be like a 280 pound Michael Vick who thumps bibles instead of kills dogs.” It was hopeful thinking, but it’s what you do when you have no other option. You ignore the fact that quarterbacks are supposed to learn how to throw when they’re 12 years old playing Pop-Warner football, not when they’re a professional athlete making millions of dollars. Throwing is a fundamental skill, not a neat perk you hope they’ll pick up as they get more NFL experience.
But now the 30 bomb of Busch Light has been replaced by an ice cold sixer of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. And I’ll gladly take six good beers over 30 shitty beers any day. It’s amazing how fast I was able to sober up. Last week when the Manning-Bronco rumors started leaking out, I was scared to get my hopes up. But as soon as the news broke this morning, I was instantly on board, rationalizing how a 36 year old quarterback who’s had at least four neck surgeries over the last year will lead us to a Super Bowl. Remember, Elway was older and had been sacked eleventy-million more times than Manning the last time the Broncos won a Super Bowl.
It’s true, there’s no guarantee that Manning will even be able to finish a full season. His neck might flare up again and we could be starting Adam Weber by week six (who the hell is Adam Weber?). But there was never a guarantee that Tebow would complete more than four passes in a game. Plus, Manning’s upside is miles higher than Tebow’s. Would it be that unreasonable for him to come back at 90% of his 2010 self? Maybe his completion rate drops a couple points, and he throws an extra interception or two over the course of the season. But he’s still going to have his unparalleled ability to read defenses, change plays at the line of scrimmage, and his nearly flawless decision making. If there’s one quarterback who brings the most to the table outside of pure physical ability, it’s Peyton Manning. So much of what makes him one of the greatest of all time goes on in his head, and a handful of neck surgeries won’t change that.
But really, stats and hypotheticals aside, I know this is a big day as a Bronco fan because of the number of people who came up to congratulate me at work. Typically, you congratulate coworkers for getting engaged, having a kid, or winning the office March Madness pool. Apparently, you can add “having your favorite team sign one of the best quarterbacks of all time” to that list. Awesome.
I know it sort of sounds like I'm bashing Tebow a little too much for someone who previously hosted a Tim Tebow fansite that he was trying to pass off as running blog. I don't mean for it to come off that way. Tebow will always have a place in my heart. Like I said, he gave me my favorite football season since the Elway era, and I won't soon forget that. But objectively, he's bad quarterback. His intangible inspiring irrationality was probably what the Broncos needed last season when things seems particularly hopeless but there’s a reason that despite their record, the Broncos were dismal in every other statistical category. They weren’t a good team and bad teams can fake it for a while. However, it’s unlikely that they could have faked it for an entire season in 2012. So I’m happy to hang up my Tebow jersey. It was a great run, but it’s time try to actually win a Super Bowl. On the running front, let’s update things after two weeks of uneventfulness:
Sunday (3/4): 3.43
Monday (3/5): 4.1
Tuesday (3/6): 2
Wednesday (3/7): 4.1
Thursday (3/8): 4.1
Friday (3/9): 4.1
Saturday (3/10): 8.2
Total: 30.03
Sunday (3/11): 4.71
Monday (3/12): 4.1
Tuesday (3/13): 2
Wednesday (3/14): 4.22
Thursday (3/15): 4.27
Friday (3/16): 4.1
Saturday (3/17): 8.2
Total: 31.6
I really want to up the mileage to like 35ish by getting in another 8+ day during the week and maybe going 10 on Saturday. But daylight savings has destroyed any chance of me getting up even earlier to run in the morning. It was finally light outside for the majority of my run, and besides the fact that running sucks and I hate it, my morning runs weren’t too bad. Now it sucks, I hate it, and I can’t see anything. Bummer. At least we got Peyton Manning.
