Fri
Jan 29 2010
02:13 pm
Why I Hate Payton Manning
By: Virgil Proudfoot

LPayton Manning is a great quarterback. He may even be a great husband, father, and all-around human being, for all I know. But I loathe the guy.

continued...

The University of Tennessee is a football school, first and foremost, and unfortunately not much else. As the greatest recent legend of UT football, Manning symbolizes the triumph of the college sports mentality that overshadows everything else that happens--or could happen--at UT. It's a mentality that dumbs down everything around it and sucks up an enormous amount of resources that might otherwise go to something like teaching or research, perish the thought. The UT Athletic Department has dibs on most of the wealthy private donors in the area, and they suck 'em so dry that there's not much left for any non-sports-related initiatives. Couple that with a state legislature that doesn't know how to do anything with higher education but cut its budget, and you get the third-rate institution that is UT.

Universities shouldn't be in the semi-professional sports business, anyway. Frank Deford has said plenty on that subject recently that's easy to look up on the NPR website for anyone who might be interested.

Manning is also part of a white patrician southern tradition, which I also detest, for reasons that shouldn't even be necessary to enumerate.

And to hear the NFL commentators drone on about his godlike prowess gets on my nerves big-time.

I watch the Chicago Bears on NFL Sunday Ticket over DirecTV, and I always enjoy the games, even when they lose, as they have quite a bit lately.

To paraphrase the famous South Side Irish song that goes:

I've got two favorite clubs:
The go-go White Sox
And whoever plays the Cubs.

I've got two favorite NFL teams:
The Chicago Bears
And whoever plays the Colts.

Am I being unfair to Manning? Probably. But I don't care. I hate the guy, and even though they'll probably lose the game, I hope the Saints sack his sorry arse repeatedly in the SuperBowl.

Topics:
Anonymously Nine's picture

Is this tolerance Friday?

Submitted by Anonymously Nine on Fri, 2010/01/29 - 2:23pm.

Is this tolerance Friday?

Brian A.'s picture

Am I being unfair to

Submitted by Brian A. on Fri, 2010/01/29 - 2:38pm.

Am I being unfair to Manning?

You could at least spell his name correctly.

Brian A.
I'd rather be cycling.

Average Guy's picture

Misdirected Anger

Submitted by Average Guy on Fri, 2010/01/29 - 3:13pm.

This site seems pretty forward thinking on eco-technology. How many here have gone and watched the solar decathlon? (link...)

Think it will ever draw 107,000 people?

You're not mad at PEyton, you're mad at fans. And I get it. People like to talk about sports like it's life and death, totally overlooking the fact that these "boys" are just playing games. Some people like to watch sports news, because to them, it's "news". Some people, who couldn't tell you where the Duncan Building is downtown, could give you full statistics on UT for the last two decades.

It is the ultimate distraction, but that's also part of the rub. People, especially now, need one.

If you would rather lead people to a more sound, better resulting distraction - write a post about what that is - then hope people will follow. Slamming Mr. Manning isn't much of a message.

Rachel's picture

I dunno. Expending this

Submitted by Rachel on Fri, 2010/01/29 - 3:14pm.

I dunno. Expending this much energy either hating or worshiping a sports figure seems weird to me.

adanovi's picture

So let me get this straight

Submitted by adanovi on Fri, 2010/01/29 - 3:22pm.

Drew Brees is a good guy who deserves to win more than Manning because... he went to Purdue? Purdue, of course, is a "northern school," even though it is one of the most homogenous and race conscious parts of the country. So, what, by your definition he's therefore eliminated from being part of any sort of "white patrician southern tradition?"

I guess this also brings back the great debate of whether or not Texas, the state where Brees is from, is or is not part of the South.

You know PEYTON Manning donates back to UT's scholarship fund, right?

Secondly, just because it makes you feel good to pontificate on college sports and UT in particular as having a deficit in educational standards and professional standards, doesn't make it true.

Perhaps I shouldn't have even commented on this dribble since the writer couldn't even correctly spell the name of the very subject he or she chose to write about.

Enjoy the Superbowl!

ferrari's picture

Peyton doesn't just donate

Submitted by ferrari on Fri, 2010/01/29 - 4:36pm.

Peyton doesn't just donate back to UT's scholarship fund, he has a scholarship endowed in his name that was partially funded by the more than $100,000 in ACADEMIC scholarship awards that he received during his career at the University of Tennessee.

If you're gonna rail against UT as an athletic institution rather than an academic one, that's your prerogative, but Peyton Manning shouldn't be part of the conversation. That's just common sense.

InformationJunkie's picture

Do you hate the man, or do

Submitted by InformationJunkie on Fri, 2010/01/29 - 7:27pm.

Do you hate the man, or do you hate what the man represents?

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