The story is as old as The Bible: no matter how much you have, there is always someone with more.  Such is the tale with two of the biggest stars of American sport, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning and New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez.  The two men represent the pinnacle of achievement in their respective sports. 

Between them reside multiple MVP awards, countless All-Pro and All-Star appearances, and assaults forming against several NFL and MLB records.  If Manning and Rodriguez continue on the career paths they have carved out for themselves, both will certainly be first ballot Hall of Famers as soon as they are eligible for immortality and many will regard them as the best to ever play the game. 

And both men would have to live with a terrible burden. 

Both men would have to spend the rest of their lives hearing their name mentioned by sports fans followed by a “yeah he was great, but….”  Both would live with the sense of an unfinished career.  Both men would have to carry on without owning the ring that legitimizes them as all-time greats.  Worst of all, Peyton Manning and Alex Rodriguez would have to live the rest of their lives hearing the names “Tom Brady” and “Derek Jeter” whispered behind their respective backs. 

It’s a twisted version of the classic little brother/sister syndrome.  On the hit television show The Brady Bunch, Jan Brady always cried about how her big sister Marsha was prettier and more popular.  No matter what Jan achieved, Marsha always seemed to get more praise and accolades.  Imagine that scenario, but with Marsha being the one who always felt left out.  That’s how Peyton and A-Rod will feel when in the same room with Brady and Jeter. 

I personally giggle at the image of A-Rod looking at his baseball peers and crying out in a Jan Brady-esque way: “Why does Derek Jeter get all of the national respect?  Derek, Derek, Derek!”  I’m sure Rodriguez finds this scenario no laughing matter. 

While Jeter was a first round draft pick out of high school, few players entered the MLB draft with more fanfare than A-Rod.  Rodriguez, the consensus number one pick of the 1993 draft, was USA Baseball’s junior player of the year and the first high-school player ever to try out for Team USA.  When the Seattle Mariners nabbed him with the first pick, the question was not whether A-Rod would make it to the big leagues, but rather when he would make his debut.

Today, A-Rod is considered one of the best, if not the best, all around player in the game and a sure-fire top pick for fantasy baseball enthusiasts due to the position he plays and the gaudy numbers he puts up every year.  Yet a huge contract, distant relationship with fans, and an inability to show is true personality to the media has left A-Rod as the best baseball player in America who isn’t beloved by the fans.  Yankee supporters still do not embrace him as one of their heroes; you’d probably hear a number of Old School names such as Jeter, Posada, Rivera, and even Bernie Williams mentioned as key players on the Yankees before you’d hear A-Rod’s name. 

He’d be embraced quickly if his considerable skills brought another championship to the Bronx.  Yet all his homers, gold gloves, and stolen bases won’t mean a thing to baseball fans without a World Series trophy. 

Like A-Rod, Manning was a “can’t miss” player coming out of the University of Tennessee.  He was the first pick of the NFL Draft and instantly deemed as a savior in Indianapolis.  He has done incredibly well, too.  Over his first eight NFL seasons, he is the only quarterback in NFL history to pass for at least 3,000 yards and at least 25 touchdowns.  During that time, he also started all of his regular season games at the injury-prone quarterback position.  He is currently one of the smartest and most feared quarterbacks in the NFL.  In short, he has performed as well during his first eight years as any quarterback in the history of the NFL – during the regular season. 

The problems arise in the postseason, where the Colts have consistently had their high-octane offense shut down by physical defenses like New England and Pittsburgh.  These playoff failures have, perhaps unfairly, burdened Manning as a player without the championship touch.  No one doubts his will to win tough games, just his ability to win them. 

Meanwhile, you all know Tom Brady’s story by now.  An unheralded sixth round draft pick out of Michigan, Brady was forced into action in 2001 due to an injury to incumbent starter, Drew Bledsoe.  All Brady did was lead the Patriots to an improbable Super Bowl upset of the Rams that year.  Since then, he has won two more Super Bowls making him the youngest quarterback in NFL history to win three championships. 

Brady has decent regular season numbers, but not nearly up to the standards set by Manning.  Any fantasy football player can tell you that Manning is by far the top rated quarterback due to his consistent greatness.  Yet in the real world, the only number people look at is the number three—as in the three rings on Brady’s fingers.  Until Manning puts a championship ring on his finger, he will constantly live in Brady’s shadow – Dan Marino and Joe Montana in the 1980s an eerily perfect comparison –

no matter how many passing records he sets over the rest of his superb career. 

I’m sure most of you are aware that A-Rod and Peyton haven’t won rings while Jeter and Brady have.  You might then be wondering why I am wasting my time writing this basic story.  Well, don’t look now, but Peyton is 30-years-old and A-Rod is about to turn 31.  Only Hollywood starlets have a shorter career span than professional athletes.  Both A-Rod and Brady have more years behind than in front of them as high-level players and the sand is falling to the bottom of their hourglasses faster every year.  Their time is now.

Derek Jeter and Tom Brady have already cemented their place in the pantheon of their sports.  Maybe one day A-Rod and Peyton will also be champions in reality as well as the fantasy world.  Perhaps they won’t.  The next five years will provide us with the answers and shape the relationships between four great players – but just two champions.

Brad came to New York from Dallas to live the glorious life of an underpaid actor.  He then decided he'd rather get not paid to work on sports because that is where his biggest passion lies.

Brad loves intense and emotional sports like football, hockey, and – its ultimate manifestation – March Madness. To him, there is very little better than game day.

He is still in football Valhalla as the Texas Longhorns actually won a national championship for the first time in his life.

There is nothing more boring than a sports stat-head.  Please don't recite stats to him; it's the equivalent of reading a math book.

Brad apparently enjoys talking about himself in the third person, similar to many athletes.

Brad would eventually like to have his own sports radio show, but he will probably be fired for gross insubordination or for the inability to focus solely on sports.  There are other interesting topics, you know.  Like Irish whiskey.  Which, of course, could lead to his being fired for gross insubordination.

He can be reached at brad.seal@atomicsportsmedia.com.