War of 1812

FINALLY! The Patriots get a win over the Colts.

Brady or Manning... http://www.stampedeblue.com/ calls it the War of 1812 (they may not have invented the title but that's where I found it).

For a while it seemed like a no-brainer who was better, all you had to do was look on each QB's hand and count the rings... 3-0 in favor of Brady. Even before either player entered the league the Colts were the Pats' whipping boys, but then the roles seemed to switch somewhere around the time Tedy Bruschi had his stroke. It was almost like the Patriots as a whole had a stroke and could no longer "play Patriots football" as fans had come to know it.

In 2006 the two teams met yet again in the AFC Championship game and the Patriots seemed to have them securely in the coffin, but Peyton and the rest of the Colts (cuz really, who else matters?) made a historic comeback that was as thrilling for Colts fans and Patriots haters, as it was deflating for Pats fans. Allegedly several players on the Patriots defense were quite ill at the time, but whatever they caught must be chronic and contagious because the defense has sucked for about half a decade now. I think it's time to sterilize the locker room. (Oh by the way, the Colts won the Super Bowl two weeks later against Rex Grossman and the Chicago Bears, a perfect Champ vs. Chump showdown. Pats-Colts was the real super bowl that year.)

That comeback was resurrected last year in the now infamous "fourth and two" game. Once again, Manning and the Colts managed to play 60 minutes of football all in the fourth quarter, and beat the Patriots once again. The tide had officially turned.

Yesterday it seemed like history would repeat itself once again in a very Groundhog Day manner. But this time it was going to happen on Patriots home turf... unacceptable. It was yet another thrilling game between the co-teams of the 2000's (yeah maybe Pittsburgh deserves to be mentioned too) but finally the Patriots actually made a play in the 4th quarter of a Colts game to preserve the win. Big 4th quarter plays against the Colts had become as rare as a Randy Moss hustle play.

So with this latest game in the books... who's better? Tom owns the single season TD record, and more Super Bowl rings than Peyton's whole family combined. Manning clearly throws the ball better. It doesn't seem to matter who's wearing the blue and white. If they're breathing, Peyton will hit them in the hands. Yet it just hasn't led to repeated championship success. Tom doesn't throw a very good deep ball, but with shifty, possession receivers he doesn't have to very often.

There are plenty of comparisons to make, but the real beauty of the contest is that it exists. Who can really say which player is better? What we really should appreciate is that we have these two guys at all. Their skills are undeniable. Their off-the-field images are squeaky clean, leaving little for fans to truly hate. When they play a game against one another, and it seems to happen every year, it's an event. They're the best of this generation, and maybe among the best of all time, and football fans should be thankful for such a gift. I can't wait to see the next battle in the War of 1812.