In the 2040s, the National Football League will see the emergence of two star quarterbacks who will be playing repeatedly for Conference championships and the Super Bowl. Their last names will be Tebow, sons of Tim.
I could be wrong, but I have wondered throughout all the banter about Tim Tebow if the folks discussing his poor skills as a quarterback remember a fellow with similar challenges by the name of Archie Manning. The father of Peyton and Eli, both of Super Bowl fame, was a gifted college athlete at Ole’ Miss who was tough and could run better than he could throw. But as a professional quarterback he was not as successful, perhaps because he played for eleven years for the hapless New Orleans Saints. He ended his 13-year career — one with the Vikings and one with the Oilers — having completed 2,011 of 3,642 passes for 23,911 yards and 125 touchdowns, with 173 interceptions. He also rushed for 2,197 yards and 18 touchdowns. Archie’s record as a starter was 35–101–3 (26.3%), the worst in NFL history among QBs with at least 100 starts.
But his record as a dad of quarterbacks was stellar. Maybe Archie was born-again, maybe not. But as the order of creation teaches, blood lines matter in horse racing and professional athletics.
Old Life 