Peyton Manning Chooses to Take His Hall Of Fame Arm to Denver, Forcing Tebowmania to Take a Hike

Manning With His Broncos Jersery

In a bit of a surprise decision, Peyton Manning, the four-time NFL MVP agrees to a deal with the Denver Broncos, a team that seemed to slip into his favor at the last moment. For a while it seemed like the 11-time Pro-Bowler was either going to land with the Tennessee Titans or the San Francisco 49ers. It was just in the last couple days that Denver made it apparent just how ready they were to invest in Manning and they surged ahead of the others to claim their franchise quarterback. The deal is reportedly worth $96 million over the next five years. The contract seems a bit pricey for a soon-to-be 36 year-old coming off a season completely derailed by a neck injury, but I’m guessing the Broncos are willing to take the chance on Manning because of his legendary status in this league. The man is a proven winner and there is only a short list of NFL teams that wouldn’t replace their own quarterback for Manning.

Elway

Unbeknownst to the media for some time the Broncos head executive has had his eye on Manning since the day the Colts released him. NFL Hall of Famer and former Bronco great John Elway knew that getting Manning would be the ultimate score in this off-season. Elway has always admired the play of the former Colt and for good reason. Not only does Manning have stellar statistics that would be good enough for most, but he also plays in a style similar to Elway’s, almost imitating his mannerisms at times. It was the perfect fit for Elway. By making this move he could bring back the glory days of old to the city supported him for so many seasons and Manning would be under the tutelage of one of the greatest quarterbacks in the history of the league. Sounds like a win-win right?

Tebow Walking on Water

Not so fast. The signing wasn’t really a victory for every Bronco. The arrival of Manning also brings an end to the era of Tim Tebow in the Mile–High City a bit sooner than most sports fans were expecting. The second year player out of the University of Florida created quite a bit of hysteria last season when took over at quarterback for the Broncos after replacing starter Kyle Orton. The Broncos were 1-5, bottom of the AFC West division, and the fans were begging for Tebow, the former Heisman Trophy winner and college phenom, to be put in as starter. Denver coach John Fox, although not the biggest fan of Tebow, saw the season slipping away and realized that the team probably couldn’t be doing any worse than they already were and took a chance on him. Then Tebowmania took over. He rattled off a 6-1 record in his first 7 starts and took the Broncos from the basement to tops in their division. Tebow took the world by storm in just a couple weeks. His jersey sales skyrocketed, families in Denver started changing all of their children’s names to variations of Tim (Timmy, Timothy, and Timothina for girls), and as he continued to lead the Broncos to victory people actually started to believe that Tebow was in the second coming of Christ (Surprisingly only one of those statements is made up).

As great a season as he had, Tebow never truly gained the favor of the people who make the important decisions in Denver. They would not commit to him even after he brought them from being a dumpster of the league to playoff participant in less than a season. When news that Manning had been released broke I doubt Tebow ever thought his job was completely safe. He just wasn’t whom they wanted in Denver, as well liked as the guy was by fans. Now, most likely, Tebowmania will be shipped off to a new city and hopefully he can show the Broncos just what they are missing out on.