THE MOTHER OF SUPERBOWLS

February 6, 2008 by Nicole
Filed under: Sports

This blog article can be found on DC Metro Moms Blog. I’m a contributor!

Being a Native Washingtonian, I am a Redskins fan. That being said, I wasn’t too excited for the Superbowl.

I was impressed with the Patriots’ record and thought that winning the Superbowl would be a nice way for them to end their season (I’m such a girl). So I watched the game rooting (albeit not too strongly) for the Patriots to have their perfect, undefeated season.

After reading Curious George and singing a song, I kissed my son, said goodnight, turned off the light and he went to sleep. Not much had happened in the game downstairs. So I worked on some stuff and watched the game half-heartedly.

The Patriots scored a go-ahead touchdown and I figured that was it. I thought that was the beginning of a high-scoring Patriots victory. But the Giants didn’t give up. And suddenly it was a really tight, fierce competition again.

Eli Manning, the Giants’ quarterback looked poised, yet relaxed. Then they went to a shot of his brother Peyton (Indianapolis Colts’ quarterback and MVP of the Superbowl last year) watching him from the skybox, but noticeably separated from everyone. He was sitting all by himself, concentrating on every play, every pass his brother threw and cheering him. That’s when the game changed for me.

I realized that Eli Manning was becoming a man before my eyes. He wasn’t in his older brother Peyton’s shadow. He was playing well against overwhelming favorites in the Superbowl, and he was winning.

As the minutes ticked down I thought of Mrs. Olivia Manning, the mother of Eli, Peyton and eldest son, Cooper… WOW! This woman must be living right. I’m sure she made some mistakes along the way, but she sure did a lot of things right. Eli and Peyton are both starting quarterbacks in the NFL. They aren’t in the tabloids. They are supposedly just very nice boys. My brother met Peyton when they were both in college, Peyton was already a football star, and my brother said he was totally cool and he definitely knew football.

I thought about all the trips Mrs. Manning made to practice, how many times she hauled football equipment around. I thought of how many times she must have encouraged her boys, how many times she comforted them after a loss, how many ice packs she put on ankles and shoulders.

Football is a game. We’re not talking about solving world hunger, and the Manning boys aren’t elected officials who are working to make this country better (although they may be some day).

But for just a moment, let’s celebrate this Superbowl for highlighting the importance of motherhood.

This year, as the Giants won the game and Eli Manning was named MVP, history was made. Peyton and Eli Manning became back-to-back Superbowl Champions AND back-to-back Superbowl MVPs.

Congratulations to Mrs. Olivia Manning for raising great sons. All the skinned knees, broken bones and damaged egos you took care of paid off.

Congratulations to every mother out there. Congratulations to you when you are the chauffeur, the referee, the coach and the cheerleader.

Congratulations for everything you do for your kids. Someday your son may be winning a Superbowl. Someday your daughter may be winning the White House. And all of our children have already won our hearts.