Peyton Manning at IBAs in 2002. JAMES GIBBARD/Tulsa World file
News broke Tuesday that Peyton Manning will be released by the Indianapolis Colts.
Speculation is rampant regarding where Manning will land next, but, if there’s any justice in the universe, he'll land in a good place.
Pick any famous athlete or celebrity. Usually, we formulate an image of that person based on what we have read about them or what we have seen them say or do on television. And that’s not always reality.
A better way to formulate an opinion about someone is through personal interaction. Here’s my personal interaction story about Manning:
In 2002, Manning was selected as the male recipient of the Henry P. Iba Citizen Athlete Award. It’s a good-guy award presented annually by the Rotary Club of Tulsa.
I needed to interview Manning for a story prior to his appearance at the Iba Awards dinner.
When you request an interview with a celebrity, you know beforehand that you’re on their time schedule and not vice versa. If they call you at midnight, you answer the phone and you’re glad it rang. If they call you when you're driving down the turnpike, you pull over and take notes as best as you can.
Manning called me while I was covering a high school state track meet in Ardmore. My cell phone rang as I was circling the field looking for an interview subject. The timing couldn't have been worse.
Ever been to a state track meet? Starters fire guns. Fans scream for Johnny to run fast. The public address announcer is always asking for athletes to report to a warm-up area or a medals stand (sometimes he even warns that a pickup truck has to be moved before it gets towed).
In other words, it’s so loud that you can barely hear a cell phone conversation, much less conduct a decent interview or take notes of any substance.
I told Manning about the predicament I was in and said I was willing to make do, if necessary. He said something along the lines of “no problem, I’ll call back at a better time.”
Uh-oh. That’s celebrity-speak for “the check is in the mail.” There are a ton of superstar-caliber athletes who are never going to volunteer to call back, much less do it. They’re under the mistaken impression that they’re too busy to be civil.
Did Manning call back? He lived up to his word and we talked for a long while about all kinds of subjects, including the fact that he grew up to be a big boy scout despite hailing from a section of New Orleans that has been home to horror novelist Anne Rice and Trent Reznor.
Ten years later, the Colts have decided they don’t want to pay the price -- and it’s a big price -- to be loyal to Manning.
I have no idea if the people who run the Colts’ organization are men of their word. But, as far as I’m concerned, Manning’s word is as good as gold -- or at least as good as the gold medals that high school kids were winning when Manning first called me in 2002.
