Peyton and Eli Manning Should Embrace Rivalry, Not Avoid It

When did the Mannings of New Orleans become the Klitschkos of Kiev?

According to Marshall Faulk, Peyton's former teammate and now an analyst for the NFL Network, there is no way Peyton wants to play in the same conference as Eli, much less in the same division.

If that's true, maybe we can start another league just for Peyton so he can avoid Eli altogether.

They are football players, not boxers. They play the same position. They have been and are going to continue to be compared to each other, no matter how much distance they put between them. 

To a certain extent, I understand why Wladimir Klitschko and his brother Vitali won't duke it out in the ring. Because boxing has more heavyweight titles than college football has bowl games, the Klitschko brothers each hold at least one title and keep a promise they made to their mother not to fight one another.

This would not have been possible during the golden age of boxing when there was only one champion for every weight class. Then what? Would Wladimir or Vitali join Weight Watchers to be able to move down to cruiserweight or light heavyweight? 

While it is understandable that a mother does not want to see her sons bloodying each other, anyone who has a brother knows that's exactly what most brothers do while growing up. And for free.

Why turn down millions to do it in the ring?

It's logical for Peyton Manning to stay in the AFC because of his familiarity with the conference and teams. But if Peyton won't consider Arizona because it might keep Eli from getting to the Super Bowl, well that borders on the absurd.

Who doesn't want to upstage his brother?

Besides, both already have Super Bowl rings. Peyton already is headed for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton while Eli is well on the road there. They have played against each other twice during the regular season, with Peyton winning both times. I still think they are talking to one another.

What's more, football is not an individual sport. We seek to bring out the sibling rivalry between them. The Mannings need to be more like the fictional J.R. and Bobby Ewing on the TV series Dallas, or Tom and Dick ("Mom liked you best") Smothers on the Smothers Brothers.

They certainly can learn a thing or two from from the Williams sisters in tennis.

Serena and Venus have played 23 times, with Serena holding a 13-10 advantage. Serena is 6-2 in eight Grand Slam finals against Venus. Sure, family members find it excruciating to watch, but they haven't tried to avoid playing one another.

It's time for Peyton and Eli to "Mann" up. Let's hope that Faulk has gotten this one wrong and that Eli's future Super Bowl aspirations are not part of Peyton's thought process in picking a new team.

That would be more like brotherly disrespect than brotherly love.