Mr Irsay hurry up please; it is Peyton Manning all over – Part One
Only player around the National Football League (NFL) who can claim to have received media attention more than any other player could be Denver Broncos’ quarterback, Tim Tebow. He is considered to have assumed the status of a Cult.
He might not be able to win as many as sympathisers as Indianapolis Colts’ quarterback, Peyton Manning. He also seems to have crossed all media heights.
As a matter of fact, he in many cases has been given more space and time by the media outlets than they had spared for another player, even Tebow for a matter of comparison.
Manning continues to dominate the coverage of the American professional football league in the offseason. His issue has been highlighted to an extent that frustrated his employer, Jim Irsay, the Colts owner. Irsay, according to latest reports, has decided
to keep a mum on it, from now onwards.
The media hype around Peyton Manning started from his neck surgery in September 2011. Following to it he was ruled out of the team for rest of the season, which had hardly started then.
That was the point where all the controversies and theories around Peyton Manning started pouring in the market. They are still on and on despite that the season is about to reach its peak of the Super Bowl event, due in the Indianapolis, on Sunday, February
05, 2012.
There has been a report or rumour or speculation about Manning’s injury status, chances of his recovery and his prospects at Colts almost on the daily basis.
Some of the food for thought has been provided by the people around Manning, Colts owner, Jim Irsay, coach, Jim Caldwell. They still matter the most to keep the issue in headlines.
It was first their vice chairman, Bill Polian, who had kept commenting on his chances of return to the side throughout the season. He said so much about it that he was found contradicting his own views in between.
He was especially more vocal about his hopes of the player’s return to Colts and boost their chances for wins. These hopes were more of his ambitions than realistic assessments of the player’s injury status and recovery.
Polian was rather overoptimistic to have the player back in the perspective of consecutive losses by his team. This was not a good sign for him in front his employer, Jim Irsay, who kept weighing his options silently.
The owner apparently was giving enough room to his chairman to possibly give a second thought to his pro-Manning’s stance.
The chairman besides feeding the media on the regular basis himself became a commentator on the issue in his weekly radio programs.
It was Peyton Manning all over his agenda. Little he had realised then that Manning’s is impossibility for the season. He could not sense then his coming at any point of the season was unlikely.
He could also not realise the impact it was having on his employer, Jim Irsay. Irsay was apparently silent over the developments in his franchise, with a storm waiting inside him.
Manning also kept in the news courtesy of the people from his family and football community around him.
His brother, Eli Manning, who is a quarterback at the New York Giants, has expressed of his repetitive hopes of Manning’s coming. He said that the injury would allow his brother to return to Colts in the later part of the season. His hopes remain only hopes
until now.
It was also his father, Archie Manning, who proved himself to be a man of crisis. He kept backing his son throughout and after the season.
He just like Polian was on and off about his statements at many occasions. Amid controversy and guess work of Polian, Archie had at one occasion said that Peyton Manning was least likely to play besides another quarterback on Colts at the same time. No matter
even if the other player was a rookie quarterback.
He negated his viewpoint on very next day, saying it could be a possibility that both quarterbacks play side by side without any issue whatsoever.
All these issues remained the highlight of the regular season. There is no respite even since then.
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