Monday 27 June 2011

The Other Manning

He’s the one you don’t hear about so often. He’s the one without a Super Bowl ring. He’s the one that wasn’t a quarterback and he’s the one that never made it to the NFL.
Cooper Manning, the older brother of Peyton and Eli could have had a promising career in American football had it not been for an underlying nerve problem. A 6’4” tall wide receiver with passion and a will to win in his blood he could and should have been one of Ole’ Miss’s finest. Unfortunately the underlying nerve issue turned out to be Spinal Stenosis, a debilitating condition in which the spinal column narrows, causing pressure on the spinal cord. This nerve damage made it almost impossible for Cooper to compete in the game his whole family seemingly cherishes and without playing a single down for Ole Miss he was forced to quit the sport for good, a sad end for such a prospect.
Since then both his younger brothers have gone on to win Super Bowls, and also feature as the MVP for those games. Would this of all been possible without the inspiration of their older brother? Could Cooper have also been just as great?
I’ll leave that for discussion…

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