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ANDERSON, Ind. (July 29, 1998) -- The heat and humidity returned to the Indianapolis Colts' training camp Wednesday afternoon. So did the humanity. About 500 fans arrived early and stayed late to catch a glimpse of or, more importantly, an autograph from the Colts' new $48 million man, quarterback Peyton Manning. "You know how much he's making a day?" exclaimed 12-year-old Rodney Moreland from Webster, Fla., as he pressed against a nylon rope by which Manning would soon pass. "Twenty-four thousand," said Rodney, to no one in particular. "I heard it on the news last night. "That sure is a lot of money." Sure is. But for the moment, the money seemed insignificant to the fans drawn out to sit and stand beneath a hot July sun in hopes of making some kind of connection with a gen-u-ine, bon-a-fide football hero. Even if he hasn't thrown his first NFL pass yet. There was young Moreland, who just happened to be in Anderson visiting his cousins when he learned Manning would be arriving at camp. There was JoAnne Burnette of Gatlinburg, Tenn., a 35-year season-ticket holder of her beloved Tennessee Vols. Burnette remembered seeing Peyton's daddy, Archie, lead Ole Miss to a 38-0 thrashing of her Vols, and she considered it rightful payback that Archie's son would eventually become a Vol himself, and an all-American at that. "I'm just so happy for him," she said, waving her Vols flag as she stood in line with her friend, Frank Worden of Muncie. Then there was 9-year-old Adam Grant, attired in an orange Tennessee jersey with Manning's "16" on it. Adam carried a sign that read, "Morristown, Tenn., Loves Peyton," and his long wait was rewarded when Manning adorned the jersey with his signature. Adam was visiting his grandfather, Hugh Lee of Middletown. Was it worth his day in the hot sun to get Manning's autograph? "Oh boy, was it ever," Adam said. Let the record show that Manning officially joined his teammates at 10:30 Wednesday morning, arriving not in a Brinks truck, a silver Rolls or even on a golden staircase from Heaven. Instead, he was behind the wheel of his new Chevy Tahoe -- part of his contract included the vehicle -- with Colts president Bill Polian in the passenger seat. The presumption would be that Polian insisted Manning wear his seat belt. The whirlwind of the previous 24 hours didn't really hit him, he said later, until he got in the locker room and began putting on his clean uniform, as yet untouched by the grime and smell of practice toil. At 2:15, he emerged from the locker room and, surrounded by Colts media personnel, ran the first gauntlet of autograph seekers. At 2:45 he was with his teammates, stretching, when one anonymously "welcomed" him to the fold. In a loud voice, the teammate shouted, "They had an early drawing and Peyton Manning done hit the Powerball." Let the record also note that once the team broke into offense versus defense drills, Manning threw his first pass into double coverage and nearly had it intercepted. Then he completed his next 10 throws. Later on, he hooked up with Aaron Bailey on a long touchdown pass, which drew audible appreciation from the spectators, but audible disapproval from head coach Jim Mora. "That sucks," said Mora. Let the record finally show Mora was talking to the beaten defensive back, and not to Manning. When practice concluded, Manning was subjected to a round of interviews. I counted seven minicams (including one from Knoxville), a dozen radio microphones and another dozen ink-stained wretches such as myself. Manning gave the obligatory answers to the obligatory questions and repeated his cute, stock line about what he was going to do with all that money. "Earn it," Peyton said. Manning said he didn't want to "talk about the figures." He'll be one of the few. A 48 proceeded by a dollar sign and followed by six zeroes boggles the mind even in an era when the fans are becoming increasingly numb to mega-contracts. "The amount won't mean anything to me unless I produce," said Manning. "I won't feel like I deserved it." With that, Manning was tugged away and pointed toward the locker room. But first, there was the return gauntlet through the autograph hounds. He signed shirts, balls, pictures, caps, gloves, helmets, pennants ... you name it. Finally, 25 minutes later, he simply had to go. The team was waiting on him, just as it had been waiting on him for a week. He hadn't yet unpacked, and already a road trip loomed to Champaign, Ill., for three days of scrimmages with the St. Louis Rams. "I'll be back on Monday ... I promise," Manning vowed. The crowd dispersed, taking him at his word. "Seems like a genuinely nice guy," one fan was overheard to say after Manning left. "I sure hope he can play some football." That's more than a hope. For $48 million, that's a demand.
Bill Benner is a sports columnist for the Star and the News. Contact Bill by calling (317) 624-4636 and entering category 7151. |