Happy 34th Birthday, Mr. Franchise

Today, March 24th, 2010, Peyton Manning adds another year to his slowly aging belt. Manning has shown little to no signs of getting up their in age, and is still playing at a hall-of-fame level. Although most Colts fans refuse to acknowledge the fact that one day number 18 will no longer be under center, it would be naive to think that the front office does not grow more and more fearful with each passing year. Brett Favre is seemingly immune to time, but other than him quarterbacks have proven unable to maintain a competitive level when old age kicks in. Which begs the question, how long will Manning play?

There are several ways in which a quarterback can exit his tenure in the NFL. John Elway decided to leave while he was on top and at the peak of his career, following back to back Super Bowl’s. Brett Favre has lingered around the league for longer than most expected him to, and has had some very up and down seasons, with the most recent one being one of his best. However, for the handful of quarterbacks that have left under their own terms and went out on top, there have been many more who have been forced to leave the game. With the amount of pride and integrity that Manning carries himself with, it seems logical to assume that he will leave while he is still playing quality football. The amount of perfection that Manning puts into every aspect of the game is telling of his love and desire to be apart of this great sport. So even though he may want to leave while he is still on top, when the day comes for Manning to call it quits I doubt he does so without a few tears being shed. I can guarantee that Manning will never be forgotten, and when the time comes for him to exit the game of football, part of Indianapolis will feel much emptier. 

While I wish Manning nothing but the best on this, his 34th birthday, I do so hesitantly. For with every birthday wish Manning becomes that much older, and if Colts fans could have it their way Manning would stay forever young.