Super Bowl and Sibling Rivalry

I admit it, I am jealous of Tom Brady, which is kind of odd since I am a woman and will neither play pro football nor date a supermodel. I just did not want the Pats and Bellicheat to get to the Super Bowl. Again. But I told myself last week if the Packers made it to the big dance as well, perhaps they would win, and Brett Favre would end up with a nice ending just as the Bus did. Who can forget player introductions during Super Bowl XL when Joey Porter held back the entire team so the Bus could run out first, alone. And, doing my best Dick Vermeil impersonation, I cried after the Steelers won, and the Bus said, "The Bus stops here." Or something like that. But, alas, it was not meant to be for the Favre and the Packers. And since I read last week that Favre might not retire after this season anyway, well, I don't feel so bad. Plus I really would have felt sorry for the Giants' kicker had he missed another field goal. Sheesh.

And this brings me to today's topic: sibling rivalry, courtesy of the Manning brothers. I grew up with a nearly perfect brother. He was a good kid, whereas some relatives to this day still reminisce about me as a child, and not in a good way (though Jordan apparently rivals my behavior, at least according to Mom). Joe had one of or maybe the highest scores on his admissions test (or whatever you call that) into first grade. I, on the other hand, did very poorly the next year when I took it, but the principal figured I was Joe's sister, so I would probably be okay, and eventually, years later, I finally did get the hang of school.

With my partying ways in high school, I seemed to forever get grounded, but Joe was always on the up and up. But I was never jealous of Joe, because he was just this nice guy, who seemed to always make time to help me out. Whether it was tutoring me in geometry, or helping me write my final computer science program, he was there for me. So it seemed natural that I ended up at Penn State just as he did. Of course, Joe did far better on that placement test too. I can remember being bummed that he, who wanted to be a civil engineer, made it into the advanced English 30. And I, who was going to be an English teacher, ended up in the "regular" English 15. But I also think that we were of the opposite sex probably helped stave off resentment. I was in musicals, plays and choral groups in high school, something not too cool for guys. And it was not as if we were ever going to pursue the same person. In fact, when Joe and I would walk around campus together and a pretty girl walked by, Joe would always say, rather loudly, "Sis..." (Okay, maybe he only did that once or twice.)

So I wonder what it is like for Peyton and Eli. Do they really get along, or is Eli stuck in his older brother's shadow? Does Eli wish he had half as many as Peyton's seemingly endless endorsement deals? Was Eli depressed after the "Manning brothers bowl" last year? Is Archie harder on Eli since he is not as good as Peyton? And where was Peyton during yesterday's game? I can only hope Peyton is there to support Eli and offer him encouragement when necessary. And I sincerely hope the two of them have as good of a relationship that I have with my brothers (except when we are fighting). But I also hope that the Giants win the Super Bowl, for as much as I want the Patriots to lose, it would be even nicer to see Eli win. And if that happens, it would be nice to see Peyton on the sidelines, being one of the first to congratulate him, "We Are Family" playing in the background. Okay, maybe not that. But you get the idea. Now go hug your brother and/or sister!