I am not a huge Peyton Manning fan, per se.
For instance, if the Denver Broncos were playing the Pittsburgh Steelers (my favorite team) today, I would be rooting for the Steelers defense to – hmm, how should I put this – gently place Mr. Manning on his backside.
Now, my wife is a big Peyton Manning fan, and her devotion travels. She used to be an Indianapolis Colts fan and now she pulls for the Denver Broncos, because of No. 18.
We had to go into separate rooms in January 2006 when the Steelers and the Manning-led Colts met in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs. She would yelp every time the Colts scored, and I’d slap the couch in another part of the house when the Steelers scored. The Steelers eventually won the game that year – and ultimately the Super Bowl – but our marriage survived.
When the Steelers are out of the playoffs (as they are this year), I revert to rooting against the teams I loathe. This list is comprised of exactly three franchises: the San Francisco 49ers (whose narcissistic quarterback, Colin Kaepernik, likes to kiss his own tattoos), the Dallas Cowboys (the erstwhile “America’s Team” which has only won one playoff game since 1996) and the New England Patriots (hereafter to be referred to as simply the Evil Empire).