A Basketball-Football Comparison (and Vacation after Last Night)

As I suffered through last night's game and tried to think of something to offer a little respite from angst on today's board, I thought of an interesting conversation on sports talk radio the other day, which was based on an assertion that Tom Brady and Peyton Manning are the football equivalent of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson in their competitive domination of a decade.

That assertion wasn't the topic of the discussion. It was assumed that Brady/Manning and Bird/Johnson are outstanding examples of competitive duos. The topic of the discussion was...who's who? Is Brady the Bird persona or the Johnson persona? Is Manning the Bird persona or the Johnson persona? And, of course, the important question is, "Why?"

Opinions?

Sam

Sam,

I put Brady in the Magic category, seems a bit more personable than Manning. Not flashy, but smiles a lot. However, Brady has the never give up no matter how much time is on the clock mentality, that Bird was known for.

Manning seems a bit more sullen, as Bird could be.

Pete

Interesting observations, Pete. I picked the word "persona" to include personality matters as well as signature approaches to the game. I think Brady seems to insert more passion and instinct to his game than Manning does, whereas Manning is perhaps more of a methodical technician than Brady. Which brings up a tough question for me. How did Larry and Magic compare when it came to passion and the technical aspects of the game? How about their relative leadership qualities? Class under pressure?

Sam,

I think both had equal passion, Bird was the blue collar, never give up the fight kinda guy, while Magic played to the media. I think Magic disguised a lot under that Hollywood smile, as I. Thomas always did, so how did Magic come down on his team mates in the locker room, away from the camera, is another question.

Bird's comment "That we still played like a bunch of sissies tonight" tells it all. Edit-it was "women tonight"

Pete

Sam,

Even team-wise, the Colts = the Lakers. The buildup pre-game always hyped Manning and the Colts, yet the final result turned out in Brady's and the Pat's favor, at first. Manning finally broke through. I found a nice article about the Brady-Manning relationship. It mentions Bird-Magic on the 2nd page.

http://www.indystar.com/article/20091113/SPORTS03/911130333/1058/SPORTS03/Indanapolis-Colts-vs.-New-England-Patriots-Time-for-annual-meeting-of-legends

I read to the 2nd page, so after I post this, I'll go back to reading it later. I'll come back later to comment on anything I find interesting and pertinant to this discussion.

It's supposed to rain later, so I gotta go do the outside stuff now.

gyso

I guess I'd have to match up the two New Englanders for one simple reason. Larry Bird was more of an on-the-spot innovator than Magic Johnson. That's not to take anything away from Magic's great performances, but they pretty much followed a similar pattern game after game (except for that doggone baby hook). Even his strutting dribble was well-rehearsed.

Larry seemed to innovate even when in mid-air (which we all know wasn't a particularly long time). That falling-out-of-bounds switch to the left hand scoop from 10 feet was symptomatic of a riverboat gambler's mentality. So were the improbable threes, the calling of his shots, the audacity of the shootout against Dominique.

And I believe Brady is a more instinctive QB than Manning. I picture Peyton as achieving a lot of his greatness more through technique and repetition, while Tom accomplishes a large percentage of his greatness by quick reactions to situations.

Sam

Manning will go down as the greatest QB in Colt history surpassing Johnny Unitas, especially if he puts one or two more Super Bowl titles in the trophy case! This coming from a former Baltimore Colt fan. When Peyton was in a quandry as to whether or not to return for his Senior year at Tennessee, he did not consult with then Coach Phil Fulmer. He sought out the wisdom of non other than Pat Summitt!-MD.

Sam

After listening to Manning after the New England game I gotta match up him with Bird. Both have that laid back matter of fact no nonsense talk and a little of a drawl to their voice. And if they have a chance to throw a knife at you to take the air out of your sails they do it. Little tougher for a quarterback who leads 10 men on offense only during about 1/2 of the game vs a player whom plays virtually every minute.

Brady backed the decision (questionalble at best although I thought it correct) by his coach. And Manning may have done the same too, If Bird thought his coaches errored to cost them a big game he's have said so I believe.

beat

Beat, it certainly doesn't seem like a clear-cut choice of similarities because it depends on which criteria one uses. I couldn't watch any of the after-game stuff, as the end of the game sickened me. It was so methodical and inevitable, like watching the slow knife insertion scene in "Saving Private Ryan." The fact that Belichick made that decision reinforces that Manning is now considered almost infallible in last-minute drives and that Belichick doesn't have a whole lot of confidence in his defense.

Has to be ranked as one of the worst coaching decision ever made in sports! You give a world class quarterback 30 yards to score a touch down against a tired and injured defense instead of perhaps 70 years. Belichick's ego has to be held in check. Another gaff is when Belichick did not call time out after seeing the Giants offensive look in the super ball and go over defensive strategy. He just let the Giants and their momentum continue.

Manning is a spoiled pedigree. He was groomed by his father and pampered his whole life just like his brother. Cannot really say who is who except one is a sex symbol and the other is a hick.

112288

Easy big fella. I grew up in Tennessee.

Jeb

My thoughts are they are both pretty polished. As Magic was. Larry was way more country and apt to speak his mind as it was not as his handlers told him to.

I cant think of a football equivalent to Bird unless it might be Jack Lambert or some such. No one in the modern era.

jeb65 wrote:112288

Easy big fella. I grew up in Tennessee.

Jeb

Jeb I had to use Hick rather than substituting the "H" for a "D". I am trying to respect Sam's Forum.
Sorry for the misunderstanding!

112288

11228

Rip Torn in payday..."aw hell"

Don't sweat it. Just got a soft spot for Manning due to his Vol years.