I know this is about a week late, however, it is something that I believe needs to be addressed and is very relatable in some facets of life. With that being said, this ideals that I am going to be talking about may not translate well into all facets of life and should be read with that in mind.
Let me begin with some background information that will further facilitate my ability to express my passion for the subject. I am a diehard Patriots fan. I have always been and always will be a Patriots fan. Naturally, this means that it is in my ideology to DESPISE four things: King Roger Goodell, The Colts, The Giants, and last but certainly not least Peyton Manning. After all, in the debate over who the best quarterback in this generation is, Tom Brady has no competition. But let me put my homer biases and radical fanaticism away, let me talk about public enemy number one (in New England at least) Peyton Manning.
As aforementioned it is in my pedigree to hate Peyton Manning. But this does not mean I HATE him. In fact, I hate having to PLAY him. I have the upmost respect for him, his game, and even those goofy commercials that he is in. Despite the erroneous allegations that Emperor Goodell has recently tried to jam down our throats, Peyton Manning is a class act. He truly is. I cannot begin to express the amount of respect that I have for him.
Last week I wrote a blogpost that was generalized in the hopes to allow a diverse group of readers to connect with it. This week I am giving a specific example of what I was alluding to.
For those who do not know this season was most likely the last of Peyton’s Hall of Fame career; this was a year plagued with injury, ridicule, and allegations. Despite all of that, Peyton never complained and never gave in to the emotions that must have been running through his head. In his interviews he was able to deflect leading questions, and internalize and reflect on his thoughts and opinions before he spoke. On game day he did not allow the outside noise effect who he was as a player. His body was far beyond its peak was was starting to fail him; however, his demeanor never changed. Even when everyone called for him to be benched or retire he persevered. He led his team into the Super Bowl and won.
No matter what you say about Peyton’s play on the field, you can never deny that his character has stayed the same. He has gained my lifelong respect (barring any actually plausible allegations) and hopefully he has gained yours too.
The message that I am trying to convey in this example is that sometimes we can gain the respect of others simply by ignoring all outside noise. For me personally, when I am in times of adversity I tend to isolate myself from the chatter of others and focus on the task at hand. Sometimes this is a school project or a test or a goal that I set for myself (in Peyton’s case a Super Bowl). In any case, it allows me to achieve my goals. I hope that this has achieved two things: one, that you have a newfound respect for Peyton Manning; two, that this is idea could be implemented in or is relatable to your own lives.