The following Spring Training story is completely true: Ryan Theriot, the dry-fielding (that’s the opposite of “slick-fielding,” right?) 2B/SS for the San Francisco Giants clobbered a pitch over the left field wall on Saturday afternoon in Scottsdale. As the ball caromed off the back of the Oakland Athletics’ bullpen, a fan in our section yelled, “PEYTON MANNING!”
The crowd cracked up, because it was that kind of afternoon. Here’s a summary of the conversation in the bleachers, Section E.
PEYTON MANNING PEYTON MANNING PEYTON MANNING PEYTON MANNING PEYTON MANNING PEYTON MANNING PEYTON MANNING PEYTON MANNING PEYTON MANNING PEYTON MANNING PEYTON MANNING PEYTON MANNING PEYTON MANNING PEYTON MANNING PEYTON MANNING PEYTON MANNING PEYTON MANNING PEYTON MANNING PEYTON MANNING PEYTON MANNING PEYTON MANNING PEYTON MANNING PEYTON MANNING PEYTON MANNING PEYTON MANNING PEYTON MANNING PEYTON MANNING PEYTON MANNING PEYTON MANNING PEYTON MANNING
Besides one really wasted girl rooting for the A’s (until the Giants started whacking homers), that’s all anyone talked about.
“He’s going to the Niners, he wants that ring.”
“He’s going to Tennessee, they love his ass there.”
“Didn’t he just sign with the Broncos?”
Err, what?
(Furiously checking Twitter on my phone…)
“No, but Alex Smith is considering switching agents,” I said to nobody in particular. My wife may or may not have smiled and patted me on the head at that point.
“Aw, that’s my good little blogger.”
If the 49ers only hopped into the sweepstakes late in the game to keep the Arizona Cardinals out, strong-arm (no pun intended) Smith or create buzz for the franchise, it wouldn’t be surprising.
You know who was talking about the NCAA Tournament in the stands while the Giants battled the A’s? No one. And until the fans around us got too drunk to focus on topics other than where the beer vendor was or who they should flirt with, the baseball game in front of us wasn’t much of a topic, either.
The consensus was: the 49ers probably aren’t going to sign him … but you can’t count out Harbaugh … but the Niners’ give Manning the best chance to win a Super Bowl … but Manning wants too much money and organizational power … but he’d take less to win a Super Bowl, right?
In all, it’s striking how much people respect, admire, adore and desire a quarterback who may not have fully recovered from four neck surgeries. Tom Brady may have won the most Super Bowls of any active QB, Aaron Rodgers may have the highest QB rating, Drew Brees may have the most yards — but since Manning’s the one who’s single and ready to mingle, he’s the talk of the town.
It’s also a statement on how Jim Harbaugh (and to a lesser extent, Trent Baalke and Jed York, who’s absolutely on fire these days) have raised the consciousness of this once-dynastic franchise once again. And it only took one year. Now, the Niners are power players once again, they’re the team that’s best positioned to sign the biggest free agent in NFL history, and the quarterback who helped bring this team back from the dead is left to wait and see what his agent’s most important client decides.
