Read the opposing arguments from Loyal Homer and Bleacher Fan.
For a Father’s Day themed article I was tempted to choose the New York Yankees as my subject. While it would appease the ever-relentless “Babe” here at TSD, it is also not THAT long ago that the Yankees famously became Pedro Martinez’s “Daddy.”
But, I decided it was impossible to pass up the opportunity to talk about one of the rare family combinations in the history of sports – the Mannings.
It seems that sports are full of great father-son legacies. Bobby and Barry Bonds come to mind, though they leave quickly due to the son’s choice to cheat. My colleagues have picked excellent examples as well. But very few times are the father and sons both great people and amazing athletes. Ever rarer, it seems, are the sons able to surpass the father’s accomplishments.
It is no secret that the New Orleans Saints, until recently, struggled mightily as a franchise. Those struggles began from the team’s inception back in 1967. It was not until 1971 that the team was able to draft the quarterback and leader it believed would lead to championships – second overall pick Archie Manning, the patriarch of the most successful and impressive father-son lineage in sports history.
Though Archie definitely did not experience ultimate success at a professional level, aside from two Pro Bowl appearances and an Offensive Player of the Year award in 1978, his understanding of the quarterback position helped propel his two sons, Peyton and Eli, to Super Bowl success. It takes a special kind of relationship for that to happen.
Many dads, if they were professional football players left unfulfilled when it comes to a championship, may choose to parent their sons differently than Archie. They may choose to push their sons, force football upon them, drill them nonstop, and micro-manage their lives to create the type of success they never had. Archie’s approach, if you listen to his sons tell the story, was much more laid back. In fact, Archie was so obsessed with football when he was a youngster that his parents nearly made him quit. Informed by that experience, he took a measured interest in shaping his children’s football skills.
In the media firestorm that surrounds every Super Bowl, no story was hotter last January that Archie – favorite son of New Orleans – rooting for his genetic son, Peyton – quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts. While many writers and talking faces from myriad news outlets concentrated on this supposed controversy, the quiet reality is that Archie’s allegiance was never really in question.
In many ways, “quiet reality” is a nice descriptive phrase for the formative years Archie’s sons remember. In the run up to the most recent Super Bowl, Peyton was asked about this dad’s influence and what he remembered about growing up as Archie’s son. Peyton gave a simple and revealing answers, saying, “When we were kids, while waiting on my dad, my brother (Eli) and I used to go out on the Superdome turf and play,” he said. “We’d get a big ball of tape, wad it up, and play one-on-one, 100 yard football. My father would always come out onto the field to get us and we’d watch him sign autographs for fans on the way out of games.”
Ever-steady, Archie instilled a natural leadership and work ethic his sons credit him for. It is that presence that has helped propel Peyton to one of the best quarterbacks in the history of the game despite the many seasons he remaining in his right arm, and propelled Eli to the franchise face for one of the most storied and successful NFL teams ever. Both sons are Super Bowl winners, both sons are top quarterbacks in their era, and both credit the steady, quiet leadership of their dad.
The Manning family wins this argument not just because of the quality of performance and character, but because two is better than one. The fact that Archie heads a family of winners and taught winning, even though he never really experienced any winning at a professional level, underscores what a remarkable story the Manning “father-sons” legacy is in the history of sports.
No one can be a perfect dad (sorry, Dad), and I’m sure Archie wasn’t the perfect dad who made all of the perfect decisions every time. I’m sure there were times where he couldn’t make the kids’ games growing up, or had to play on a birthday. My point is, it is often possible to gain insight into a father’s effectiveness by observing his kids. The Manning brothers are articulate, full of humor, dedicated to success, and good citizens (check out their charitable giving – of time and money – after Katrina). It’s easy to sit and review only stats and on-field performance for this debate. But when truly evaluating sons as people who happen to play a sport, it sure seems like Archie Manning and his sons Peyton and Eli are unmatched in their life – and sports – success.
