Archie Manning Essay

If one thing is certain, it’s that the state of Mississippi loves their football. Between the Ole Miss Rebels, the Mississippi State Bulldogs, the Southern Miss Golden Eagles, and multiple high school teams, there is plenty of football to be seen. Fridays and Saturdays are often the Sabbath to the football nuts that reside in Mississippi. Once the dreaded end of the season arrives, the conversation shifts towards how great people’s teams are going to be next year. On occasion, a person will rise from the plethora of meatheads and become a legend among their fellow Mississippi natives. Archie “Super” Manning, the legend of the University of Mississippi, was one of the few to become a Mississippi football icon. Archibald Elisha Manning III was

Stated in Mississippians, “Every boy growing up in Mississippi in the late 19660s or early 1970s wanted to be Archie Manning” (“Archie Manning”). My father, long time Ole Miss fan, Wilson Montjoy, grew up watching Archie Manning play. Manning was my fathers all–time favorite player because he was just a boy from Mississippi like him. My dad described watching Manning play and said, “He was always the best player to walk onto the field and would always single handedly lead Ole Miss to victory. While he was a great player, he was always an even greater person. Manning was a true captain and one of my favorite football players of all-time”. He was an amazing talent and his exhilarating playing style left fans speechless and breathless. His talent is a partial reason that College Football became so popular to watch on television. Especially when Manning performed like he did in the 1969 game against the Alabama Crimson

When they retired his number eighteen jersey, the campus decided to make the speed limit eighteen mph in tribute to him. John Grisham, another Mississippi legend, stated his opinion on Manning and said, “Archie became larger than life” (qtd. In “Archie Manning”). Although he has received many awards after his career, his greatest award is his induction into the 1989 College Football Hall of Fame. Having been married to his college sweetheart in the May of 1971, it was no surprise when the Manning’s began to have children. What was surprising was the future these boys had ahead of