Now that we are all over the excitement that Peyton Manning finally got his second Super Bowl win under his belt, we can all think with clearer minds. It’s been reported that Manning has told people that the Super Bowl was his last ride and he will call it a career. After the game was over he was asked that question twice and he couldn’t have answered the questions better than he did. He didn’t take anything away from his teammates and the Broncos organization by announcing he would be retiring while in the middle of that massive celebration. Instead he told everyone that asked that he was going to think about the decision and weight his options. That is what he should do, but ultimately I feel that Manning should retire as we all saw his skills have diminished and he isn’t the same quarterback that we all know and love. He has essentially become a game manager at this point and that isn’t what Manning should want in the twilight of his career. He should want to go out on top and being revered as one of the best to play the game. Strike while the iron is hot I say. But that brings on the question that so many in the Colts Nation have put to social media, “Will Manning retire a Colt?”
I know this is a question that many of you want an answer to and rightfully so. Many of you either grew up watching Manning in Indy or followed him from draft day all the way up to the tearful goodbye in 2012. He will forever be a Colt in your eyes and mine, however, does he really need to retire as a Colt? I personally don’t think he does. He doesn’t need to sign that one day contract that many want him to sign so he can say he is a Colt for life. He IS a Colt for life. He is THE Colts player that people will mention 50 years from now. None of the amazing memories we have of the Colts’ time in Indy would have been possible without Manning being in blue and white. The journey we took with the teams that he lead are forever etched in our minds. Do we really need to watch him sign a one day contract to know that he will forever be a Colt?
The organization will put him in the Ring of Honor as soon as possible without a shadow of a doubt. They may even retire his number, but should they go through the motions of signing that contract just to put on a show which is essentially what that would be. What’s wrong with him retiring a Bronco? He took them to two Super Bowls and won one of them. He took that team from a bottom dweller to a top five team. You know, like what he did in Indy. I would be willing to bet that if you look on post boards or read the local Denver papers that people are saying the same thing that Colts fans are saying.
Look, I’m not saying that Manning isn’t special to me. I’m not writing this as a Luck-lover and a Manning-hater, I am writing this as a way to say that there is nothing that Manning needs to do to be forever in my heart and mind about what he did for my favorite team. I’m sure that many people will argue that this is a dumb article and argument, but I don’t really care. The one day contracts are meant for guys like Jeff Saturday and Dallas Clark who did go elsewhere but didn’t have the same impact as they did here in Indy. Manning isn’t that guy. He did make a huge impact elsewhere and just took the Broncos to another Super Bowl and won. Peyton may come back to Indy with all the love he had for it the day he left for Denver. He may come back here and live and grow old and become part of the Colts organization, but all of that has nothing to do with a 30 minute ordeal where he jots his name on a players contract one more time for nostalgic reasons.
I feel Peyton is done and I think he wanted to let the world know last night but he wanted to remain classy and let his teammates enjoy the victory before he drops the bomb that he isn’t coming back. I’m glad Peyton got his second ring and I feel that puts him in the top five all-time players in the NFL. I think if the Colts want to honor Peyton as soon as he announces his retirement then they should immediately retire the number 18 and make it a special occasion at a game next season. Retire the number and put him in the Ring of Honor at the same time. That creates even better memories for us Colts fans. You can almost bet that Denver will be put him in their hall of fame because he brought them another Super Bowl and revitalized their franchise. That’s the best way for Manning to be a forever Colt in my opinion.
