Being a sports fan has its pros and cons. When I think about all the time I have spent over the past years diligently following sports, not to mention the energy and sanity invested in the diehard zealousness associated with being a sports fan, I can’t help but wonder if my quality of life (and certainly my GPA) would be higher if I just stopped. Indeed, many times people argue this point, saying that time can be far better spent engaging in meaningful tasks instead of watching a bunch of paid adults make their money. 

While these arguments do have merit, nothing compares to the feeling of investing in a team and seeing them succeed. They become a part of you, and their victories become yours. A favourite player has the same effect: when they do well, you live through their success and when they don’t, it definitely detracts from the fan experience.  But when they leave the team, it’s just plain sad. Anybody who has painted his or her body, tailgated at a game, or waited hours in the cold for an autograph knows what I’m talking about. Your favourite player’s success means a lot.

So for you sports fans, the next sentence will probably be more than enough context to understand where I’m going with this: I am an Indianapolis Colts fan, and a diehard Peyton Manning fan as well.

Hockey has always been the number one sport in my life, and it wasn’t until I was 14 that I really started watching football. Since Canada doesn’t have any real football teams (sorry CFL fans), it’s pretty common to simply pick a team, for whatever reason, and cheer on for the rest of your life. Ever since then, Peyton Manning has been the only quarterback I would cheer for. His record-breaking performances, his ability to dissect a defense, and his incredible work ethic are all great reasons to be a Manning fan. However, it is also the intangibles that contribute to what makes Peyton Manning so incredibly revered. His class, southern charm, and surprisingly sound acting skills make him a fan favourite around the league, not just to Colts fans. 

It should be no surprise to anyone that I was devastated three weeks ago when the Colts released their quarterback of 14 years. I was one of those Colts fans in denial  who believed that Andrew Luck and Peyton Manning together would have been a good idea. So what if Peyton had a $28 million signing bonus? So what if he had three neck surgeries in the past year? Peyton Manning defined the Colts’ success for more than a decade, and it was almost unfathomable to think that only two weeks after his release, Manning would be holding an orange and blue jersey with a beaming John Elway standing next to him.

In today’s sports culture, it is commonplace for an athlete to leave the team that drafted him, especially with smaller market teams, for bigger, better, and more exciting cities. Peyton Manning could have made millions of dollars playing in much bigger and flashier cities than Indianapolis, but that just wouldn’t have been Peyton. In an era where class in professional sports seems to be nonexistent, Peyton Manning is a refreshingly loyal outlier. 

For those Colts fans that feel betrayed by Manning, don’t forget that it was the team that cast him out, not the other way around. Manning’s professionalism and courtesy, in addition to his unbelievable skill and immense talent, will always be remembered fondly, no matter what happens in Denver and beyond. 

–Joshua Prizant