SteveSilver.net

Manning and the Braves

People are comparing Peyton Manning to the '90s Atlanta Braves, since both were great for a long time but won only one championship. Craig Calcaterra unloads:

I can't decide if Manning or the Braves should be more insulted by this phony, brain dead line of analysis.  If anything they should both team up and beat the hell out of whoever launched the meme in the first place (maybe the Bills and the Ohio State Buckeyes should join them). Oh, how trenchant! Of course any player or team that demonstrates only occasional greatness should be on the defensive and be made to be ashamed of itself.  Of course there is nothing worse in sports than to fall just short of a championship. Second place is first-loser, after all. They would have been better off simply giving up before the regular season began. Beats being a lousy stinkin' choker.

But I suppose I can't really blame the columnists who spew this stuff. The concept that almost, but not quite reaching the pinnacle evidences some character deficit is probably deeply ingrained in the American psyche. A myth that had to be created in order to protect the masses from the cold hard reality that random chance and dumb luck governs a hell of a lot more of our lives than any of us would care to admit.  The good and virtuous always prevail. The weak and flawed always lose. It's so much easier that way.

I've also been hearing this bullshit that Manning isn't really a great quarterback, because "a great quarterback would've won that game." Please. by that rationale, there are no great quarterbacks each year other than the Super Bowl winner. But the Saints lost to the Bucs, at home, in Week 16- and a great quarterback clearly would've won THAT game. You suck, Drew Brees.

That said, I still cheered loudly every single time the Braves lost the World Series.

Posted by Stephen Silver at February 9, 2010 04:53 PM