Andrew: I started this season rooting for Peyton Manning to ride off into the sunset with the confetti coming down. Manning's 16 years of greatness seemed headed for a lifetime of unfair underappreciation, with one more Super Bowl win the only antidote. And so you'd think I'd be happy with getting exactly that outcome.
Well, not really. Most athletes get one narrative. Peyton has gotten two. He might have been The Choker, but he has also gotten to be The Admired Man. As unfair as the first label was, the second earned him the kind of near-100 percent approval rating that allows a few athletes in a generation to receive nothing but affection off the field.