One More One Last Time

Life is good this morning. Super Bowl Sunday is almost upon us, and I am excited about the recent news in regards to the best quarterback in NFL history. And no, I'm not talking about Peyton Manning. I'm talking about the guy with the original "lazer-rocket arm". Brett Favre announced yesterday that he's coming back to play in his 17th NFL season. And if you know anything about me at all, you should've known that a post like this was bound to pop up within the coming days.

I first found about Brett's decision via espn.com. I headed over to the site, and saw the "breaking news alert", which usually excites me no matter the circumstance. When I read that my boy was coming back this year, I jumped out of my chair and let out my patened "Yes!" usually reserved for Red Sox home runs, Bruins goals, and of course Brett Favre touchdowns. I even scared me roommate. The point is, is that I'm really excited. And to be honest, if you're a fan of football, you should be excited too. The guy is a true gamer, and is poised to break just about every major passing record this year (Sorry Marino fans). I swear though, this is the last I talk about Favre for awhile. But I might not be able to help it, at this rate, Favre will be playing well into his 80s. Dave joked yesterday that Aaron Rodgers, Favre's backup will retire before Favre does. And then I made the point that I'll probably retire before Favre does. And I'd have no problem with that at all. Alright, now I'm done with that.

I found some rather interesting and even more humorous bits of journalism this morning. I recently read that former NFL quarterback Ryan Leaf is now the quarterbacks coach and get this, head golf coach at West Texas A&M. This got me thinking about the remarkable contrast between Leaf and Peyton Manning. There was strong debate over which one would be drafted first in the 1998 NFL Draft. So, I did some research. This is what I pulled from some New York Times articles from that year.
"Quarterbacks Peyton Manning and Ryan Leaf are can't-miss players. Leaf is a lot more sophisticated than people think, and Manning's arm is deceptively strong." (April 18, 1998 New York Times)...Yeah, anyone remember Leaf's "Stupid idiot!! Don't talk to me!!" outburst? And isn't "deceptively strong" code for "lazer-rocket arm"?
"We don't have to announce a decision until early Saturday, and we won't." - Bill Polian, Colts GM (same article)
"The owner Jim Irsay wants Leaf. The general manager Bill Polian wants Leaf. But coach Jim Mora wants Manning." - The Forecast for Saturday. Mike Freeman, NY Times (4/12/98)...Ryan Leaf? Ryan Leaf?!?! Don't talk about Ryan Leaf?!?!
From the same article/mock draft about Ryan Leaf: "He is Drew Bledsoe with an attitude." Sounds about right.
I'm done kids, enjoy the game tomorrow, I'm sticking with the Colts. 34-30.
-MC