Peyton’s Not Manning Up

This Sunday, Peyton Manning will miss the opener against Houston with a neck injury, which would not normally be a big deal. However, the four time MVP has not missed his last 228 starts over a 13 year span. To put the streak into perspective, here are some interesting stats about when the streak started on September 6^th, 1998:

• The BCS was in its first season as well
• Michael Jordan was still on the Bulls
• The Monica Lewinsky/Bill Clinton scandal was in full swing
• 9/11 was still 3 years away
• Armageddon and There’s Something About Mary were the top movies
• AOL 4.0 was king, while Google and Facebook were years away
• “My Heart Will Go On” was the top song
• Seinfeld had just ended 4 months earlier
• The (new) Cleveland Browns, Houston Texans, Washington Nationals, Oklahoma City Thunder, Nashville Predators, Atlanta Thrashers, Columbus Blue Jackets, Minnesota Wild, and Charlotte Bobcats did not exist yet
• His younger brother, Super Bowl MVP Eli, was still in high school, and now has the longest streak for quarterbacks
• Colt McCoy, his replacement on my Fantasy Football team, was only 12

But the Colts need not to worry, since Peyton’s temporary replacement, Kerry Collins, was already in the league three seasons and was waived by Carolina when the streak started. Yikes.