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Legacy

Legacy is a dirty word. Whenever it's used by a president of the United States, we citizens have the right to haul the poor bastard out and shoot him, because he's of no further use to us, his alleged employers.

My sentiments on the l-word must pale next to Peyton Manning's. Whenever the word legacy is used in a sentence with his name in it, the author is really saying, "Peyton, you suck worse than any quarterback who ever lived."

That's arrant nonsense. Manning's misfortune, which I'm confident we'll see in action Sunday night, is only that he's a great player butting his head up against a better team. He's Wilt Chamberlain without the compensation of all that great casual sex. Wilt eventually won his titles. So did John Elway. Manning might not be a Colt when he wins a Super Bowl, and I'd unhappily bet Tony Dungy won't be his coach when he does, but he's still a way better than 50-50 shot to play for at least one NFL champion.

I miss my old life, but from the bleachers I see why so many sports fans hate sports journalists. What an association of soreheads! Sorry, I forgot to mention the sprinkling of ass-kissers who leaven the dry bread of contemporary sports commentary. Somewhere between sycophancy and cynical, self-promoting moralizing, there must be a happy medium.

There is, of course. Many of my old friends and former peers live comfortably in the sphere where truth and entertainment coincide. They're not opposites, after all. Their numbers and influence, however, wane daily. It's so much easier and more profitable to scream that today is the end of the sports universe for all time.

"If this is the ultimate game," said Duane Thomas before Super Bowl VI, "then why are they playing it next year?

If the Colts lose Sunday, what prevents them from winning next season? Nothing, as Bill Belichick would tell you tonight if he had the time. Or to put the cleat on the other foot, if the Colts manage to win, it obviously wouldn't downgrade what the Pats have already achieved. Why in the world should every game be the end of the story? What fun is that?

Here's a lesson Belichick taught me. To the people at the top of the pro football food chain, every day starts from scratch. No histories, no legacies, no projections into the future. Time and space are an endless progression of moments, the eternal now.

If he could've done more push-ups and laid off the heroin, Jerry Garcia might not've been a bad football coach.

posted by Michael Gee @ 9:27 PM