A break from fantasy football - to talk about Peyton Manning.

I think that my boyfriend (and almost all men in/from/around/ever associated with Indiana) love Peyton Manning.

I understand I didn't grow up watching the Colts or Football. I understand he has had some excellent commercials. I understand that he helped to made the Colts a great team and helped to earn them a lot of money. That money they used to build Lucas Oil Stadium (worst Stadium name ever?) and all this other stuff for the Colts.

However I think I finally understand this whole Peyton Manning mythic.

Traditionally I have struggled with people who partake in celebrity hero-worship. It bothers me how often people take the time and brain space to think about people who they will never meet or who will never think of them in return. Wasting time reading about who is wearing what and who is banging/cheating on who is like brain rot. It provides nothing to actually promote an intelligent conversation with another person. If all you ever do is read/listen/pay attention to meaningless things, doesn't that make you meaningless?

However, I think people don't think of Manning as a celebrity, I think people see him more as a wizard.

I spent a lot of time reading Harry Potter. Not just as a child either. So when I say wizard, I really mean amazing fictional character.

Harry Potter gives you a young boy who has a interesting set of difficulties, a background that he as to live up too, a few fantastic friends and 4,100 pages (American Hardcover editions excluding Tales of Beedle the Bard and HP texts) of action, adventure and drama.

Manning has football background that he has to live up too (football DNA really) and an interesting set of difficulties (parts of his spine are fused together!), a few fantastic friends (once the Colts, now the Broncos?) and the most important element a bunch of games fulls of action. Hours of distraction for people who are forced to deal with everyday life.

I use Harry Potter as an escape when life is just too freaking hard to deal with. When I have had a shitty week, work has been rough or someone is being a diva I typically find myself in some layer of the HP universe (book, movie, fan fiction, or movie sound track). Peyton Manning is the every day person's Harry Potter!

So, I guess I have to be patient when my boyfriend rambles on about how AMAZING Peyton Manning is. How he is a true athlete and a champion and all that jazz because Manning is almost fictional!

I will just have to start talking more about Harry Potter.