Andrew Luck is about to attempt the impossible: He will try and fill Peyton Manning's shoes with the Indianapolis Colts.
Much like Steve Young after Joe Montana, Luck is in a lose-lose situation.
Sure, Young ended up winning a Super Bowl—famously saying, "Somebody get this monkey off my back." But in the end he couldn't compare to the legend who preceded him.
Manning is a sure-fire, first-ballot Hall of Famer once his career comes to an end.
He owns the city of Indianapolis, and it was only on April 25, 2012—the day before the 2012 NFL draft began—that the Colts took down the massive banner of him that hung down the front of Lucas Oil Stadium (h/t IndyStar.com).
There are bound to be plenty of fans that are mad at Jim Irsay for letting Manning go to the Denver Broncos when he still has plenty of gas in the tank, much like some 49ers fans are still bitter about the way their team let Montana leave for the Kansas City Chiefs years ago.
It will take an absolute miracle for Luck to ever measure up to the things Manning accomplished during his time with the Colts. Remember, they were a dying franchise when he was drafted in 1998.
He resurrected the organization single-handedly (at least that's the perception) and won a Super Bowl, turning a city that was obsessed with the Indiana Pacers into a football-loving community.
Per Yahoo! Sports, here is a small sample of what he accomplished during his time with Indy:
Indianapolis broke the NFL record for most regular-season wins in a decade (115), and tied Dallas’ mark for most consecutive playoff appearances (nine). Manning broke all of the franchise’s major career passing records, previously held by Hall of Famer John Unitas.
As good as Luck is, there just isn't any way he'll be able to fill the enormous void left when Manning departed.
The city will try and rally behind him, but in the end he'll never measure up to the legend that is Peyton Manning.
I'll say this: I wish him nothing but the best, and I hope he proves me wrong.
David Clarkson Patrick Davis Tyler Eckford Mark Fraser Andy Greene zach Parise
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