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i think it’s fitting that steve young is on espn’s postgame analysis as i write. as a huge fan of young, i can remember my relief for him when the niners finally broke through in ‘94. perhaps more than any other player, because of his relation to the joe montana niners, young took the personally-directed criticism deeply to heart. you could see it on his face every time a reporter asked him about not having won a championship and you could see it in his smile when he finally hoisted that trophy. he never said it, but you could tell it was a ‘told you so’ to his detractors after being maligned for so many years.

i remember feeling both happy and RELIEVED for young. i was glad that he would never have to answer silly questions about why he couldn’t “win the big ones just like joe did.”

i think the vast majority of sports fans today are very pleased for peyton manning. some of us even feel relief. it’s always a little painful to watch a great player or coach struggle through unfair criticism for “not winning the BIG one.” while manning didn’t display the same level of emotion today as young, you could see his own relief in the postgame press conferences and interviews. he had always been classy in defeat, today he got to be gracious in victory. like so many who had “finally” done it (Mike [notice how we don't even remember that now? if you don't know who that is, we have all sorts of other things to discuss], john elway, young, roy williams with unc, shaq with the lakers, jim boeheim with syracuse, david robinson with the spurs), it’s almost like you could see his face speak, “ok, now i can finally get on with my career.”

and where does peyton manning stand among all-time qb’s now? he’s gotta be right up there. it’s interesting how coming through today opens up all of those discussions. discussions that, before today, manning and dan marino were both seemingly excluded from because of their lack of championships. it’s not a silly conversation to have:

• 2-time nfl mvp
• all the numbers and records he’s supposed to have
  
• and, most of all, super bowl champion.

peyton manning: super bowl champion. it just sounds kind of “right,” doesn’t it?