In 2011, Peyton Manning had a major neck surgery and missed the entire season. After going through all of that and being 37 years old, who would have guessed that that Manning would even be playing anymore? Not only is he still playing, has broken multiple records and led his team to a Super Bowl! Last Sunday, Peyton Manning and the Broncos faced Tom Brady and the Patriots in the AFC Championship. It was a very exciting game, but the Broncos were victorious over the Patriots 26-16. And they face the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl this Sunday.

This season Manning broke the single season passing record, which had been held by Drew Brees, and more touchdowns in the regular season, which had recently been held by Tom Brady. Manning threw for 4,477 yards, 55 touchdowns, and 450 completions. Also, the team as a whole broke the record for number of points in a regular season and most touchdowns in a regular season. They racked up 606 points and 76 touchdowns. I think everything started when Manning threw for seven touchdowns in Week 1 against the Baltimore Ravens, the defending Super Bowl Champions. That got the season off to really great start for the Broncos.

Everyone is saying that Peyton has had the best season a quarterback has ever had. I agree, not just because of the many records he’s broken, but because of how far he’s come. Manning has had four neck surgeries since the 2010 offseason. I think it’s crazy he’s playing like this at his age and just coming off surgery. Manning has surprised everybody. I knew he was going to still play well, but this season, he’s been more than good. He’s been great. Even before all of these surgeries, he never had a season like this.

Another thing I love so much about Peyton Manning is his humble attitude. On media day he was asked about his legacy. Manning replied, “I’ve been asked about my legacy since I was 25 years old, which I’m not sure you can have a legacy at 25 years old, or even 37. I thought you had to be 70 to have a legacy. I’m not 100 percent sure what the word even means. I’m in the middle of my career… Let me rephrase that… Down the homestretch of my career, but I’m still in it. It’s not over yet. I’m still playing it out. This has been the second chapter of my career, and it is an exciting chapter. I’m certainly excited to be back in the Super Bowl on behalf of the Denver Broncos.”

I am really excited to watch him as the rest of his career plays out even if he only plays for a couple more years I hope he stays around longer. The season he has had this year will just add to the long list of everything Peyton has done in his career. Not only is he a good quarterback, he is a really good person. After all, anyone with the name Peyton is cool, right?