Lomax to Green 84
Hall of Famer
I for one am getting so sick of seeing the Networks drum up support for the big market teams in the Manning story. The more I watch this stuff, however, the more I am convinced that Manning ends up in Arizona. I am basing my theory on a couple of reasons: my experience living in Indianapolis, and what I have read regarding who Peyton Manning is beyond what we see in the commercials.
Indianapolis is a wonderful mid sized city. I lived there 18 years ago and still go back from time to time to visit. There is something about that place that just is unique compared to other big cities across the country. For one, it really is the place in the state of Indiana where stuff goes on. It has a reputation of being very good to its heroes, and it isn't a media mecca. When I was there, Reggie Miller, Marshall Faulk, and Jim Harbaugh were the heroes and those guys made their mark by outworking opponents and being great teammates. You can be a superstar in Indianapolis and still have a life. I think Peyton would tell you that is one of the reasons he has such a love for Indianapolis. Yes he is the biggest name in that city, but he still could go out and be a normal person without the worry of someone sticking a microphone in his face.
In my 7 visits to the Phoenix area over the last 15 years, I have always felt a familiarity between Phoenix and Indianapolis. I can't really explain why, but they just seem to be similiar cities and I really think that will appeal to Peyton. In Phoenix, guys like Steve Nash, Mark Grace, and Kurt Warner have been the heroes, all very similiar to Peyton in their hard working, humble approach to their craft. People in Arizona seem to admire those types of qualities in their athletes and just as with Peyton in Indy, these guys seem to able to live normal lives without all the media scrutiny.
Here are some fun facts showing how similiar the Colts/Cardinals franchises are historically:
1. Both relocated to different cities in the 1980's.
2. Both relocated to mid sized cities that never had pro football.
3. Both are family owned franchises.
4. Both have reputations of having stingy dad's as owners (Old man Irsay and Bill Bidwill) and ambitious sons (Jim and Micheal).
5. Both play in domed stadiums.
6. Both had/have hall of fame worthy wide recievers (Harrison/Fitzgerald).
7. Both are long standing franchises in professional football.
Ok, I am probably just rambling. Sorry!!!
Indianapolis is a wonderful mid sized city. I lived there 18 years ago and still go back from time to time to visit. There is something about that place that just is unique compared to other big cities across the country. For one, it really is the place in the state of Indiana where stuff goes on. It has a reputation of being very good to its heroes, and it isn't a media mecca. When I was there, Reggie Miller, Marshall Faulk, and Jim Harbaugh were the heroes and those guys made their mark by outworking opponents and being great teammates. You can be a superstar in Indianapolis and still have a life. I think Peyton would tell you that is one of the reasons he has such a love for Indianapolis. Yes he is the biggest name in that city, but he still could go out and be a normal person without the worry of someone sticking a microphone in his face.
In my 7 visits to the Phoenix area over the last 15 years, I have always felt a familiarity between Phoenix and Indianapolis. I can't really explain why, but they just seem to be similiar cities and I really think that will appeal to Peyton. In Phoenix, guys like Steve Nash, Mark Grace, and Kurt Warner have been the heroes, all very similiar to Peyton in their hard working, humble approach to their craft. People in Arizona seem to admire those types of qualities in their athletes and just as with Peyton in Indy, these guys seem to able to live normal lives without all the media scrutiny.
Here are some fun facts showing how similiar the Colts/Cardinals franchises are historically:
1. Both relocated to different cities in the 1980's.
2. Both relocated to mid sized cities that never had pro football.
3. Both are family owned franchises.
4. Both have reputations of having stingy dad's as owners (Old man Irsay and Bill Bidwill) and ambitious sons (Jim and Micheal).
5. Both play in domed stadiums.
6. Both had/have hall of fame worthy wide recievers (Harrison/Fitzgerald).
7. Both are long standing franchises in professional football.
Ok, I am probably just rambling. Sorry!!!
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