Posted on 02/03/2007 10:45:19 AM PST by SmithL
Archie Manning stood nervously in the tunnel leading to the field in Indianapolis during the final minutes of a comeback that would put his middle son in the Super Bowl for the first time.
He didn't want the television cameras to see him, didn't want to intrude on the spotlight.
He could barely bring himself to watch.
The head of football's most famous quarterback family had endured countless losing seasons as a player himself. Now he was just a proud father, peeking around the corner and praying that his son would succeed where he never had the chance.
Eli Manning, his youngest, paced next to him as the final seconds ticked off the clock and the RCA Dome erupted in jubilation.
The Colts were going to the Super Bowl. A Manning finally had won a big one.
In the bedlam, Peyton Manning looked for his dad and his brother. The quarterback father and his quarterback sons embraced in a hug born of jubilation and relief.
"Maybe," Archie Manning said, "there was a little fate there."
If any family deserved some good karma on the football field, it might be the Mannings.
And, if any father deserved a good moment from the NFL, it surely would be Archie Manning.
"Obviously my dad knows how difficult it is to get there," Eli Manning said. "He played 15 seasons and never made it to the playoffs. He knows it's not easy. Everything has to go the right way."
Nothing ever seemed to go the right way for Archie Manning in the NFL. In a decade and a half, he never played for a winning team, never came close to sniffing the postseason.
His team had records like 1-15 and 3-13. Winning a handful of games in one season was cause for celebration.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Great article; I am very happy for all the Manning's. They're class acts and always conduct themselves responsibly. In this day in age you don't see that much in the sports world... just look at the Manning on the Bears. Go Colts!
And here's another excellent article on the very classy Archie Manning and sons:
http://clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070203/NEWS/702030368/0/NEWS
I don't care much for the Colts or Bears but the players and coaches are class acts.I would like to see the Manning family with a Super Bowl Ring.
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