Homecoming

Written by:  John Edward Betancourt

I'll be honest in saying that I was completely and utterly stunned when Peyton Manning signed with the Denver Broncos.  Not because of the fact that he chose Denver, because...they're my team and they are damn good.  I mean one of the best quarterbacks to ever play the game picking my hometown team, that's the stuff dreams are made of.  

No it wasn't his choice that stunned me, it was the fact that Peyton was available to begin with.  It's a move that is just so rare, to see a future Hall of Famer who has brought the Lombardi home and earned the respect of everyone in the game to simply be cast aside and put on the market.  In fact the last time I recall this happening was when Montana was dumped for Young.  

Yes I understand Manning was injured just like Montana was, but Steve Young had proved himself to be a capable quarterback and Montana was injured on a pretty regular basis.  Manning, well he just missed one season before Jim Irsay made the call to draft a rookie to lead the franchise into the future.   

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So here we are.  With Andrew Luck now the new franchise quarterback and Peyton Manning playing with an incredible chip on his shoulder to prove that he is no way damaged goods and tonight, the legend that is Peyton Manning faces off against his old team in his old home with his new team.  There has been of course controversy surrounding this game, courtesy of Jim Irsay possibly implying that he was done with Peyton's incredible stats during his career and wanted championships instead.  

There's been plenty of speculation on his statements and even John Fox has weighed in, but that's not going to be the focus of this article.  No, because Irsay can say in the papers he misses Peyton or made a mistake and so on. The bottom line is...he released Peyton Manning.  

That move alone unleashed a fury in Peyton and it shows in his play the last two years.  Yes he is chasing another Super Bowl title but in the past two years he has been in Denver, let's be honest, there is something fiery in his play. This a man with something to prove.

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So his return to Indy is well...something the best writers in Hollywood could not dream up.  He's still hurting from his release.  He knew he had more football in him, but didn't get the chance to prove it to the team that he gave his all to. Yes the NFL is a business, and Peyton was the victim of a business decision, but that doesn't make this story any less compelling.

This game feels like a playoff game with so much more on the line.  This is about closure for Peyton Manning.  This is about him saying goodbye the right way, on the field, as a warrior of the gridiron.  Yet this night will be bittersweet win or lose.  Because one can only imagine what it will mean to this man when he runs out of the tunnel of Lucas Oil Stadium wearing a Denver Broncos uniform.  He will stand there, against the team that chose him in the town that loved him and do what he does best, play the game.  And what we will get tonight on Sunday Night Football will be nothing short of incredible.  

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