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Sports Arena
The Football Twilight Zone
Peyton Manning better hope his plays aren’t being called by Rod Serling.
Peyton Manning earlier this week signed a five-year $96 million contract to play football for the Denver Broncos. Someone cue The Twilight Zone music.
You’re traveling through another dimension, a dimension not only of the sight and sound of rotting quarterbacks reverting to their ripened selves but of mindlessness; a journey into a wondrous land where athletes get better with age. That’s the goalpost up ahead — your next stop, the Football Twilight Zone.
Peyton Manning is one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history. But after the wear-and-tear of playing every game for thirteen seasons and four neck surgeries, Manning doesn’t have much more history to make. By Manning’s age, Hall of Famers Troy Aikman, Terry Bradshaw, and Otto Graham had already retired. Manning isn’t in his prime. He’s in his twilight zone.
There is something Rod Serling-strange about Number 18 switching horses from colt to bronco. Mile-High Manning is Coy and Vance on The Dukes of Hazzard. It’s Guns N Roses without Cousin It under a top hat playing lead guitar. It’s Bizarro Superman. It’s unsettling, as though we’re living in the alternate reality. Everyone knows Peyton Manning was supposed to retire a Colt, right?
Michael Jordan wasn’t wearing a Washington Wizards jersey when he sank that playoff-series-winning shot with Craig Ehlo in his face. Willie Mays didn’t track down Vic Wertz’s bomb over his shoulder patrolling Shea Stadium’s centerfield. Chicago Black Hawk Bobby Orr never flew through the air after scoring a Stanley Cup-winning goal. Joe Namath’s Super Bowl boast didn’t come as a member of the Los Angeles Rams.
Witnessing a franchise player don the uniform of another franchise can be jarringly surreal. Navy Blue and Orange Crush just doesn’t suit Peyton. The uniform switch is visually startling in the Sports Twilight Zone. So is the performance.
Was that really Franco Harris on the Seattle Seahawks or his slower, softer, older brother? Could that aged and bloated Dominique Wilkins even dunk when he played for the Orlando Magic? Why did Johnny Unitas have to ruin a storybook touchdown-pass ending with the Baltimore Colts by tossing all those interceptions for the San Diego Chargers?
But Peyton Manning seeks to defy the script. There is precedent in the NFL and beyond. Joe Montana still had gas left in the tank when he led the Kansas City Chiefs to consecutive playoff appearances in the early 1990s. So did one of his favorite targets, Jerry Rice, when he moved across the bay to Oakland. Ray Bourque, who couldn’t win a Stanley Cup after twenty seasons in Boston, won one in his first full season with the Colorado Avalanche. Manning, whose greatness has always been more cerebral than physical, can make a better case than most that he will age like wine rather than milk.
Perhaps John Elway, the Denver Broncos vice president of football operations, knows something that the rest of us don’t. The man who lured Manning to Denver led the Broncos to Super Bowl victories at 37 and 38 years of age, making him the oldest and third-oldest quarterback to win the big game.
Age is just a number. But even in the fuzzy math of NFL contracts, 36 (years old) plus 4 (neck surgeries) doesn’t equal $96 million for five years. Maybe it does in the Football Twilight Zone.
Wanting to relive the past is a familiar theme of The Twilight Zone. In “The Sixteen-Millimeter Shrine,” Ida Lupino bunkers up in her projection room watching her Hollywood glory days until she succeeds in wishing herself onto the screen. “Static” features an embittered bachelor played by Oscar-winner Dean Jagger who shuns television for an ancient radio that broadcasts programs from a time when his future still looked bright.
In “Walking Distance,” the most celebrated of these nostalgia episodes, a discontented advertising agency executive finds himself back in his hometown of calliopes, ‘34 rumble-seated Roadsters, and ten-cent ice-cream sodas. The frustrated man chases down his younger self only to scare him off a merry-go-round and into injury. “I only wanted to tell you that this is a wonderful time of life for you,” he laments. “Don’t let any of it go by without enjoying it.”
The man’s (and the boy’s) father subsequently offered advice that somebody should have whispered to the old Bronco quarterback who perhaps imagines the Bronco quarterback celebrating his 36th birthday tomorrow as a younger version of himself. “You’ve been looking behind you,” the dad tells his 36-year-old son. “Try looking ahead.”
Football isn’t science fiction.
About the Author
Daniel J. Flynn, the author of The War on Football: Saving America’s Game, blogs at www.flynnfiles.com.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (49) | Leave a comment
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Moe Blotz| 3.23.12 @ 6:18AM
You recognise Brett Favre from Minnesota, Eh? No, he did not win any "Big Game" after leaving Green Bay, but he could still put the seed into outstretched teammate's hands. Jim Marshall also had a stellar career in the Purple People Eater livery, retiring at 41. Gordie Howe was still going strong at 50, but not in the Detroit Red Wings red. (No fights at that age either) Lou "The Toe" Groza, George Blanda, George Forman, Abdul-Jabbar. More names that I can not think of I am sure some one will put up here. Peyton may still have something in the tank plus an intangible that a few professional athletes possess: heart.
Alan Brooks| 3.23.12 @ 6:06PM
That's Elway in the photo; after he won the 'Bowl a dozen years ago, he was practically deified.
Jack in Wi.| 3.23.12 @ 7:11AM
Favre in his 41st year had probably one of his best years ever and took his team to the NFL Championship game, where the Saints hit squad tried to take him out but failed. Any other guy would have been carried out on a stretcher. Still he was heavily limping at the end of the game. Manning is a great player and really tough guy who never failed to start a game until the last couple years. But at 36, I would think that his neck and age give him a lot of hurdiles to overcome.
Appleby| 3.23.12 @ 7:26AM
I'd play for any NFL team for $96 million.
Riff Raff| 3.23.12 @ 4:31PM
Not For Long. :-)
Alan Brooks| 3.23.12 @ 6:04PM
They'd do a clusterboink on her in the locker..
Carol| 3.23.12 @ 7:32AM
Thanks for the article.
As a native Coloradoan, FORMER Broncos fan, ardent fan of Tebow, I've been pretty depressed about what Elway did this week.
Peyton Manning is a great guy. But he is a great older guy. Getting $96 million for a 4th and 6th round draft picks. Stunning for a quarterback who could be out with the first sack.
I believe Elway is jealous of Tebow. The light is no longer on him and Tebow has a light around him wherever he goes. Tebow appeals to fans and non-fans because of who he is on and off the field. Never did Tebow diss anyone and football is just a game to him. His works with those less fortunate are what Tebow finds rewarding.
Elway is taking a huge gamble. He better hope Peyton doesn't get hurt. Because if he does than Elway will go from a hero to a zero.
Dick Nome| 3.23.12 @ 8:24AM
Elway is envious of Tebow, not jealous.
Quartermaster| 3.23.12 @ 7:03PM
The two words are synonyms.
JimH| 3.23.12 @ 8:39AM
I agree, getting Payton was the one way Elway could plausibly get rid of Tebow. Why Payton chose Denver is less clear. One possibility is that the one blemish on his image is a mediocre playoff record. Perhaps he thinks Denver will provide the most post-season opportunities in the next few years. What I am not up on but also likely played a part was which agents represented the various QBs affected.
Dixie Pixie| 3.23.12 @ 10:07AM
Jim....The 96 million dollars was the deciding factor.
JimH| 3.23.12 @ 10:38AM
You may be right. I have been assuming that the pay would be about the same at any team he went to.
Bo Darville| 3.23.12 @ 11:02AM
I think the Broncos defense was the deciding factor for Manning. If they got that far with that below average offense, what could an upgrade at the QB position get them?
LiveFreeOrDie| 3.23.12 @ 2:59PM
I think y'all missed the mark. He picked the team with the best protection. If it was defense and/or which team has the best chance to win then he goes with the 'niners. Too bad SF led the league in getting sacked last season and apparently couldn't convince Peyton that would be much different this season. Oh yeah, and the 96 million $$$.
Slacker| 3.23.12 @ 1:09PM
Come on, its business and trades are commonplace. Elway is competitive and wants to win. The other Bronco players deserve the best QB Elway can hire.
By all accounts Tebow is a nice guy but, the Broncos simply need QB to complete passes. I’ll eat crow if Tebow can make his unorthodox playing style work in the NFL.
And how in your right mind can you call Manning a zero? You just want an evangelical parading around.
Slacker| 3.23.12 @ 1:36PM
The annoying part is, if it were not for Tebow’s evangelical exhibitions, the American Spector wouldn’t notice this topic. Evangelicals are engaging in tribal behavior and its pathetic.
It isn’t like Elway brought in a Michael Vick. Manning is also a good guy who has used his fame to help plenty of charitable causes. Ask the Red Cross.
LiveFreeOrDie| 3.23.12 @ 3:04PM
The single biggest story in the NFL wouldn't have been covered at AS? This assumption based on your prejudice is incorrect.
Elway's Three Mile High Ego| 3.25.12 @ 12:49AM
Carol, you are 100% correct. This is about egos and John Elway's ego. He cannot stand now having to slowly slip further into history. He cannot comprehend that the clock stops for none of us. We all wither and fade and others take on the roles we perhaps once had.
Elway is rooting for Tebow to fail. That was very evident last season and is very evident now.
This is why I cannot stand American football and professional sports in general. It is more about back-stabbing and oneupsmanship than about actually putting the best players on the field and selfless teamwork.
I, too, once rooted for the Denver Broncos. (back when I was young and I liked a running back named Floyd Little, later a WR named Haven Moses.) So long as John Elway is still there, I will never offer that franchise a moment of my time.
The word on the street here is that most 15 year old boys understand exactly what Elway is trying to do to Tim Tebow.
albert constantine jr.| 3.23.12 @ 7:43AM
Regarding Twilight Zone episodes with a nostalgia theme, Mr. Flynn left out the one about the train to "Willoughby".
Before playing the Twilight Zone card in the Peyton Manning discussion, though, it is important not to forget the immortality themed episodes as well. These include the one where the Hollywood actress ( from ancient Egypt who maintained her eternal youth and vigor by drawing it away from the young and vital) targeting the reporter doing the story on her. If Peyton Manning offers you an interview, Mr. Flynn, don't go!
Star Tripper| 3.23.12 @ 7:59AM
I thought of the Willoughby episode also but I figured it was left off because the character dies at the end. Given the risk of neck injuries it might have been too on the mark.
Mike C.| 3.23.12 @ 8:10AM
Willoughby was less about actual nostalgia, but more about a man living a life where he didn't really belong, married to a cold shrew of a woman, who desperately wanted to escape. To that end he created an idealized alternate reality in his own mind.
As I understand it, Peyton's contract is constructed such that the only guaranteed money he gets is in his first year. Anything he gets beyond that is contingent on him staying healthy. The Broncos better hope their O-line turns into a wall in the off-season for that to happen.
tdiinva| 3.23.12 @ 7:51AM
I think you meant Booby Ore and not Bobby Hull.
tdiinva| 3.23.12 @ 7:52AM
err, thats Orr with two rrs
JP| 3.23.12 @ 9:00AM
Jim Plunkett left then bottom of the barrel New England for Oakland. He was passed his prime, but still managed to get a Super Bowl Ring. For the Dolphins of the early 70's, Earl Morrel, then a washed up former Colt QB filled in for an injured Bob Griese and lead the Dolphins to a perfect season. Of course, it helped to be playing on one of the best teams in NFL history.
But that was 30 years ago. The game is quite a bit different.
Andrew Wilson| 3.23.12 @ 9:06AM
Thanks. Great piece. Just the thing for getting day off to a good start. Andrew Wilson
Les| 3.23.12 @ 9:14AM
Denver got a better player. It's business. Why the hate? Besides,Manning is a staunch Republican.
AhiaGuy| 3.25.12 @ 9:44AM
Interesting stat: over the last 5 seasons, Peyton Manning has only one more playoff win than TimT.
Aces and Eights| 3.23.12 @ 9:25AM
One fact is overlooked in John Elway's two Super Bowl wins at the end of his career: New Head Coach Mike Shanahan (One of several Head Coaches fired by the Raiders who went on to win a Super Bowl for another team.) After many seasons of frustration under Dan Reeves, Shanahan brought in a new system that exploited Elway's abilities, instead of working around them. The key to success in the NFL is coaching. Remember, Steve Young was just another glorified backup QB with amazing speed, until Bill Walsh and Joe Montana taught him how to play quarterback. Shanahan brought out the best in Elway, and without Shanahan as Head Coach, Elway would be another Dan Marino.
Now, Elway had an amazing opportunity to bring in a veteran to help win now, but who also could mentor Tim Tebow and develop him into a top quarterback for the future. Face it: Manning does not have 5 years left to play. One or two will be about it. Tebow has great talent and showed flashes of brilliance last season, not to mention he is smart, very hard working, focused, and coachable. With proper coaching and Manning's mentoring, Tebow could have been Denver's new star for years to come, but Elway chose otherwise and threw away the team's future. He did not even sacrifice the Broncos' future, because "sacrifice" implies getting something in return. He simply dumped Tebow for nothing.
It is difficult to understand Elway's thinking. One imagines he thinks Manning can give Denver a Super Bowl victory this season, and was willing to pay $96 mil for a one season gamble. But that is all it is, a gamble. It is not planning or developing for the team's coming season or for future seasons. Elway is proving himself to be short sighted, I am sorry to say.
JimP| 3.23.12 @ 10:59PM
Now Shanahan's glory days are behind him. He took the job in Washington. Two years and the 'Skins still looked pathetic for 13 games. Poor Mike. The 'Skins are the NFC's Jets, but with a lot less talent. It's a huge mess. Maybe Mike and new GM Bruce Allen are turning things around, but three number ones and a number two to draft RG III? Seems pretty steep to me. NO scrambling QB has ever won the big one. Tarkenton had three tries and couldn't. McNabb nope. Vick nope. If they take RGIII they'll win maybe 10 games because of his superior athleticism but I'll bet that is as far as they ever get.
Tebow is blessed to have been traded from a team that didn't really want him. Now he has the Big Apple for his 'stage' and the Jets' soap opera will be more fun to watch this year than the 'Skins foundering around..... again. Hey Snyder, SELL THE TEAM. Please.
Minuteman78| 3.23.12 @ 9:29AM
Peyton is one hit away from the banquet circuit.
How Tebow got dumped by Denver is the tragedy. With the exception of Oakland and Phiadelphia, I can't think of a city with worse fans than East Rutherford. First interception he throws, they'll be tossing beers at him. But he's a classier man than I. If I would have been traded to the Jets, I've walked into Ryan's office, tendered my resignation from the game, gone on missions for a year, and shown up at Jacksonville's tryouts in 2013. Tebow says he's "excited" about going to that bunch of goofs.
Kingofthenet| 3.23.12 @ 9:51AM
With all due respect to Payton, why ANYONE would give this guy a long term deal is beyond my comprehension. Oh and can he throw more than 20 yards?
Calvin| 3.23.12 @ 12:30PM
You're doing your usual projecting sissy boy.
TommyFrisco| 3.23.12 @ 9:54AM
Yes, some describe the situation in professional sports as being in the Twilight Zone, others describe it as insanity and another indication of how screwed up our society has become.
How much would a bag of Doritos, or a Coke, or a beer cost if the corporations weren't spending billions of dollars needlessly advertising products that we are already familiar with and are already purchasing? The franchises get most of that advertising money who, in turn, pass much of it on to their players. Whether or not we are professional sports fans, we are all having to subsidize these ridiculous salaries. Is the game better or worse when the players are more focused on their yachts, their investments, and their mansions?
Why can't more of this money be passed down to the fans through lower ticket prices? Why should sports fans maintain their loyalty to their favorite teams when the owners care more about themselves than they do about the fans?
This particular case, reminds me of when Bud Adams fired Bum Philips and when Jerry Jones fired Jimmy Johnson. I'm convinced that both firings were due to the owners being jealous of the attention their coaches were getting. They sacrificed their new fans to support their own egos.
astorian| 3.23.12 @ 10:01AM
It's important to remember that the NFL is not like Major League Baseball- when you read that, say, Derek Jeter signed a $100 million contract, you can be sure Derek will get every dime. But NFL contracts are NOT guaranteed, and many of them are "back-loaded," which means MOST of the money would be paid in the later years of the contract, by which time the team may already have cut the player.
If Peyton Manning is physically unable to do the job, rest assured, he won't cost the Denver Broncos anywhere near $96 million.
LiveFreeOrDie| 3.23.12 @ 3:07PM
I heard 11 million is guaranteed, haven't verified it.
astorian| 3.23.12 @ 3:30PM
That sounds about right- and the Broncos definitely have clauses that will spare them from paying out much of the money if Manning's neck isn't fully healed.
So, while this is a gamble, people shouldn't freak out when they hear the Broncos are giving $96 million to an aging, injured quarterback. Odds are, Manning won't actually collect half that much.
Broncos Fan| 3.23.12 @ 11:32PM
That's not correct.
The first $18M is guaranteed already, just by signing the contract.
If he survives the first season, at the end of the 2012 "league year", $20M for season 2 and $20M for season 3 become guaranteed.
In essence, if he survives the season and isn't cut by the end of the "league year", then about 60% of the contract is guaranteed.
In March 2013, the Broncos will face the same decision that the Indy Colts just went through a couple of weeks ago. Only it'll be a $40M decision instead of a $28M decision. If they cut Manning before then, they don't have to pay the $40M. This is their protection if he's no longer physically able to perform. If he is and they don't cut him by that date, he gets a big pay day.
Mike C.| 3.23.12 @ 10:30AM
I'm simply at a loss to understand how anyone thinks Tebow will be a franchise QB for any NFL team. People are letting their admiration for Tim Tebow the person cloud their objectivity when evaluating Tim Tebow the QB. Tebow won games playing a weak schedule in one of the weakest divisions in pro football, using a spread option variation that teams figured out how to defend after 4 games. His signature win came against a Steelers team that limped into the playoffs with key injuries, particularly to Roethlisberger.
Tim Tebow is a wonderful person by all accounts, a devout Christian, and hard worker. None of which necessarily translates into becoming a solid QB. His passing mechanics are fraught with problems, and his accuracy is dreadful. Some of that is coachable, but a lot of it is a lack of natural QB talent, which has been disguised somewhat by the systems he played in at Florida and Denver where he was essentially a fullback playing QB. A gimmick college offense won't give any team consistent success, and Tebow would be a long-term project when there are already plenty of QBs in the league with better talent.
As another poster noted, football is a business. Tebow's story is a good one, but the goal is to win Super Bowls. Peyton is a proven commodity who can immediately make Denver a contender, and likely has a backloaded contract in case he gets seriously injured. It's simply an opportunistic business move.
Tim the Enchanter| 3.23.12 @ 3:41PM
"... The goal is to win Super Bowls." Tell it to the Bills.
Paul from SA| 3.23.12 @ 10:57AM
Peyton Manning is lucky... to have missed last season and now to be playing for the Broncos.
Von Miller didn't get to sack him last year and won't get to sack this year.
Sam1427| 3.23.12 @ 2:15PM
The posters who said football is a business are right. I think Tim Tebow is a good Christian man, a great role model for kids with his work ethic and classy style, and a quarterback who will likely not last very long in the NFL if he continues to sacrifice his body to make plays. He was banged up at the end of 2010 and more banged up at the end of the 2011 season. He probably could not have played the next game had the Broncos beaten the Pats. Nevertheless I hated to see him go. Yes, I'm a Bronco fan. It's bittersweet.
Peyton Manning doesn't take those risks because he hasn't needed to. Much of his game is in his mind with his fast defense reads and his quick delivery of the football. He has an uncanny knack for spotting an open receiver. And now he won't have to avoid Champ Bailey, Tracy Porter, Von Miller or Elvis Dumervil since they're all Broncos. Manning never would throw at Bailey and Porter got a pick six off him to beat the Colts in SuperBowl XLIV. Not saying the Broncos will return to the SuperBowl after a long drought, but I do give Elway and Bowlen credit for trying to put a contender team together. And yeah, Manning's contract is back loaded in case he gets hurt again. Besides, it's not like trading Tebow for a felon. Manning is a good guy, if more low-key about it.
LiveFreeOrDie| 3.23.12 @ 3:11PM
John Madden said it best when he opined the NFL acronym could stand for the, "...you can Never Figure it out League."
Oldefarte| 3.23.12 @ 3:37PM
Manning is laughing all the way to his sizable bank account. His neck will re-activate and his lawyers will find a way to seize the $96million without his QB services. Elway was a great athlete but his IQ was suspect, and as the Bronc's VP, he's run Bolen's automobile into a big ditch monitarily. All that was needed was for Elway to personally spend quality time teaching Tebow the proper QB mechanics of the NFL-pro game and thereafter allowing Tebow's athleticism/intelligence to grow accordingly, but no, he had to get all pi*sy and trade for 36 Manning with a bad neck injury for $96. No one has mentioned the fact that to my knowledge Denver has had a mediocre or maybe bad offensive line, so where's the Indy Colts [and Jeff Saturday] line protection gonna come for old P???? Also Tony Dungy and P's QB coach/offensive coordinator of longtime was also responsible for Manning's successes [which he won't have in Mile High]. Cha-ching!!!!!!
Crassus| 3.23.12 @ 5:09PM
I guess if you're a fan of classic crime drama "The Untouchables" then Peyton Manning in Broncos uniform is Season Four. Or maybe he's Roger Moore on "Maverick."
1/75th | 3.24.12 @ 2:42AM
Guess who just became a NY Jet fan? Bring it on, Mr. Tebow. Later, Broncos.
POST American| 3.24.12 @ 3:50AM
"Over a century ago H G Wells,
speaking for the capstone Fabian line,
again and again talked about how sports
would be brought in to DIS-tract,
DIE-vert and thereby emasculate
the male and, thus, dissent within society.
ONLY men who's manhood has been
taken need to fixate and project on
other men chasing a ball."
Just three weeks on from the likely
MURDER of Andrew Breitbart---be aware!
---BORDERS
-------LANGUAGE
-----------CULTURE
SUCH are the emblems of your masculinity.
They've been taken and you yourself,
and, certainly your posterity, are, even now,
being STERILIZED.
"----I hope you folks realize, as you
look in the mirror, that you're NOW
technically extinct."
--WHY do you think they call them PLAY--OFFs?
hehehheheehe
---------------HUAC/ Nuremberg 2012----------------
albert constantine jr.| 3.25.12 @ 9:18PM
I'd say it is safe to conclude that when the newspaper hits your doorstep, POST, you skip the Sports section.
Brubaker| 3.25.12 @ 7:47PM
Yet another superstar who doesn't know when to call it quits. I'm a fan of Peyton Manning, but I'm seriously disappointed that he has taken this route. This will not end well.
Controse| 3.25.12 @ 11:19PM
All I know is I like the optics of Tebow understudying Manning with Elway's encouragement for two or three years. They could have developed Tebow into the next Aaron Rogers. My respect for the Bronco organization and John Elway has definitely dropped a notch or two.