Sports Legacies

Still winners in my book, despite what the media says.

So there was a lot of discussion about Peyton Manning on the sports radio stations, and how his legacy has been "tarnished", and now with Tom Brady going home (once again) not a Super Bowl champion -- it really got me looking at the legacies talk. I have not tuned into any of the sports radio or ESPN, but I'm sure somewhere it has already been discussed as well.

Do I think Peyton Manning's legacy been tarnished? No. This is the thing, many players, many great players have spent an entire NFL career without ever winning the Lombardi Trophy -- Manning, is not only one of the most accomplished passers in the history of football, but he already has won one (over the Bears), and lost a close one to the Saints. A Saints team by the way that was led by another future Hall of Fame quarterback in Drew Brees. It's well known that Dan Marino went to only one Super Bowl and that was a defeat by another great quarterback in Joe Montana & the San Francico 49'ers -- He didn't win a title, and I have to say Marino had quite the legacy!

People keep calling Peyton Manning a loser, and also like to point out that his brother Eli Manning, has two titles now, and a better career post-season record. It's true he does, but this is what happens in pro sports, we live in a world where Trent Dilfer (former Ravens QB) has a ring, and Marino doesn't. Sometimes it's just the way the cookie crumbles.

You can never take away what Tom Brady has accomplished in the NFL, from his unexpected splash into the NFL by taking over for Drew Bledsoe, to winning 3 Super Bowls in 4 years (making the New England Patriots the 2nd team to do that). The last title has actually been for the 2004 Season (January 2005 over the Eagles in Super Bowl XXXIX) -- It doesn't seem that long, because the Patriots have always been in the mix.

Here is a look at Brady's career at a glance:

• 2000 NFL Draft: 6th Round Draft Pick (compensatory pick); I actually remember the preview magazine, and it mentions him in a brief sentence as the 3rd QB on depth chart behind Tim Rattay.
• 2001 - Bledsoe gets hurt, Brady hit his stride in his 5th career start (after two disappointing starts), passing for 2,843 yards & 18 TD's. The Pats would go on to beat the Rams in the Super Bowl.
• 2002 - No playoffs, lost tie-breaker to the New York Jets.
• 2003 - Defeated the Carolina Panthers in XXXVIII for 2nd title.
• 2004 - Third title in four years, defeating Philadelphia. The Patriots would set a record 21 straight wins dating back to 2003 season.
• 2005 - defeated by Denver in Division Playoff Game.
• 2006 - Mounted a comeback against the Chargers, down by 8 with eight minutes left in the 4th, the Patriots would win 24-21 over a favored Chargers team. The Patriots would lose in the AFC Championship against the Colts, after leading at the half 21-6.
• 2007 - The Patriots would have an undefeated regular season of 16-0, and failed to match the 73' Dolphins in their quest for a "perfect season", by losing to Eli Manning & the New York Giants in the Super Bowl.
• 2008 - Brady's season would come to a quick end midway through the first quarter of the season opener against the Kansas City Chiefs. 
• 2009 - Tom Brady set an NFL record 5 TD passes in the 2nd quarter against the Tennessee Titans. The Patriots would demolish the Titans in a snow storm 59-0 (it tied the NFL's biggest margin of victory since the 1970 AFL-NFL Merger. Brady went 29/34 & 380 passing yards, for a nearly perfect passer rating of 152.8! The team would get knocked out by the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Wildcard Game.
• 2010 - Tom Brady signs $72 million contract (4 years) making him the NFL's highest paid player ($48.5 million guaranteed). No Playoffs in 2010.
• 2011 - Became 4th player to pass for 5,000 yards in a single-season (finishing with 5,235 passing yards), returned to the Super Bowl for first time since 2007 season, to once again lose to the New York Giants.
• 2012 - Defeated by the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship.

Now people can sit there and say it's been 8 years, though! Tom Brady can go on to not win another and that wouldn't hurt anything when it comes to his legacy, has it all lost a bit of the luster? Sure, but there is not many that can sit there and say 'Hey, I've got three rings, and tied Joe Montana for 5 starts by a QB in a Super Bowl'. People still dread the Patriots, and know that they are always a contender -- they've been so dominant it's definitely hard to believe it has been 8 years since their last title. Remember the Yankees' Derek Jeter started his championship dominance almost on the same wave-length as Brady. Brady won three titles in 3 of 4 years, Jeter won 4 during a 5-year stretch, the Yankees would do the same thing and start failing to win the title, after losing to Arizona in 2001, they would also lose the World Series to the Marlins in 2003, blow a 3-0 ALCS series lead to Boston, and have other early post-season exits, until finally winning it once more in 2009 over Philadelphia. Yet, that drought never hurt Jeter or the Yankees' legacy. The Yankees, just like the Patriots are always in the mix. Who's to say that Brady won't get another shot?

Jeter was always winning, while the Braves only won one.

Now, not only am I a Detroit Tigers fan, but I also love the Atlanta Braves as well. Do I look at the Atlanta Braves of the 1990's as a failure? No, sure they probably should have won more titles, but another force risen in 1996 in the New York Yankees. Plus a few game decisions or differences in a few plays, could have changed all that -- in 1991, during the key Game 7 of the World Series where Jack Morris pitched his 10-Inning gem, and Gene Larkin got the game-winning hit... it could have been different, if Chuck Knoblauch's psyche-out on Braves' base-runner Lonnie Smith did not work, plus who knows what could have happened in a threatening inning in which Kent Hrbek clearly pulled Ron Gant off the base to pick off the runner? We were up 2-0 in the 1996 World Series. Then there is the Marlins in 1997, in which Livan Hernandez got a strike zone in the size of the Titanic! You still can't take away the fact that, Atlanta set a professional sports record by winning 14 consecutive division titles!

It's all a few plays difference, same can be said going back to Brady and the Patriots -- both losses to the Giants came down to two spectacular catches (one by David Tyree & the other by Mario Manningham) -- Plus a couple key plays in earlier post-season exits, it's truly amazing that Brady actually doesn't have 5 rings right now!

Bills' Trio of Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas & Andre Reed in the 1990's

If Peyton Manning won against Baltimore and went on to win the Super Bowl, we would be talking what a winner he is, and not having the media and fans calling him a loser. People focus too much on the current -- 'What have you done for me, lately?' routine, we focus too much on the negative. The Cleveland Browns in the mid-80's would fall victim to Denver back-to-back years, people always point out the Earnest Byner fumble, and not the fact he was a good all-around running back that helped get them there. People focus on the fact that the Buffalo Bills lost four straight Super Bowls, instead of the fact that they were the best from their conference for 4 straight years, and the fact that they had to play the "NFC Beast" (the old nickname for the NFC East during that time of dominance) in the form of the New York Giants (86', 1990 Super Bowl Champs), Washington Redskins (1987, 1991 Super Bowl Champs), and the Dallas Cowboys (92'-93' & 1995 Super Bowl Champs) from 1990 to 1993. The Detroit Pistons won the 2004 NBA Finals, and probably should have at least won another (against the Spurs), but no one can take away that they went to six consecutive Eastern Conference Finals (which is only 2 behind the NBA record of 8 consecutive Conference Finals behind the Los Angeles Lakers).

The big, bad Pistons were a force to reckon with.

I guess what I'm trying to say, is we should embrace the positive than the negative, especially when that player or franchise has brought so much positive success in the first place. We have places like Pittsburgh who is dying to see the Pittsburgh Pirates just reach above .500 ( a winning season) to break their American Sports franchise record of 20 consecutive losing seasons, so don't be surprised to see their fans act like they have won the World Series, when they win Game #82!