The Non-Rivalry Rivalry

In light of a surprisingly good weekend of wild-card playoff football (Three games competitive until the end, and the fourth didn’t get out of hand until the second half), we have Brady, Manning and the rivalry. (It means a little less right now, with the Colts being bounced by the Jets, but whaddaya gonna do?)

In comparison to other sports and other rivalries, this one isn’t. Quarterbacks aren’t in direct competition with each other, and they don’t act like rivals. One minor objection I have to the analysis is that they don’t emphasize the importance of the other players on the team. While passing yards and TDs reflect talent of the quarterback, your winning percentage also has a lot to do with how good your defense is. But that’s peripheral to the point of the story.