Was Manning a poor sport?
 

The key play in the Indianapolis Colts' Super Bowl XLIV loss was the interception that Peyton Manning threw on a pass intended for Reggie Wayne.

And so it's no surprise that Manning and Wayne weren't in particularly good spirits after the game, and that they went straight to the locker room instead of sticking around on the field afterward to offer post-game handshakes to the Saints.

But while it may not be surprising, Manning has been accused of "poor sportsmanship" for going to the leaving the field before offering congratulations to the Saints. And Wayne said he may have gotten to the locker room even more quickly than Manning.

"I didn't even watch them celebrate,'' Wayne said. "I was one of the first ones in the locker room. They're probably still out there. That's the way it goes when you win the Super Bowl. You stay out there. When you lose, you go to the locker room.''

Manning didn't give a post-game hug to Saints quarterback Drew Brees, but he said he'd call Brees to say congratulations.

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It could have been worse. While I didn't see the game, Manning and Wayne had three options.

A) Go congratulate the Saints, then go deal with losing privately
B) Head straight for the locker room, either don't congratulate the Saints or do so later/privately
C) Throw a fit, refuse to acknowledge Saints, storm off to vent/sulk

IMO A would be considered good sportsmanship, and C would be considered bad sportsmanship, but B isn't so bad. If anything, I see it as a neutral choice versus the other options.

I really don't see the big deal. This is stretching it to say the least.

Manufactured drama to boost revenue by generating clicks for certain websites.

That's silly. I'm pretty sure that if I threw and interception that cost my team the Super Bowl I'd get out of dodge so fast it'd be like a cartoon with the spinning hat.

considering Brees and Manning are friends off the field, I don't really see it as a big deal.

PFT has quickly become a TMZ-level brew of horseshit since NBC really took the reins. Jesus it's terrible now.

agreed.

I personally don't see a problem with what Manning did. We don't know how he was doing at the time. Obviously he was upset, they had just lost the superbowl, but he could have had a headache or was hurting and just wanted to leave the field. I understand that.

I think we all have been in situations where you don't want to stand around and be the "gracious loser". You just wanna leave. I know I have.

The media is blowing it way out of proportion, as they tend to do. It's all about 'drama' and 'ratings'.

as boring as that game was (heheheh) it needed something to spice it up.... :D

You thought it was that boring? I've read that other places and don't get it, maybe I'm just off here.

I thought this was one of the better Super Bowls in a while - not quite on par with Giants/42, but just below . . . I mean, just the 2nd-half change to a 3-3-5 nickel by the Saints was exceptionally interesting, not to mention the Colts mastery of blitz pickups (and still, the pick into single-coverage on an All Pro), meaningful plays going down to the wire, Brees going apeshit 28 for 30, Manning's unreal toss between 6 defenders to Clark, going for it on 4th down, the onside kick . . .

Even for the most casual fan it had something. If you're at all into football beyond the surface level, it was a fascinating game. Minus the Who.

Not really. There were moments, but the overall game was pretty much a snooze.

Agreed - if you're at all into football, it was a really interesting game and a good one. It's not Giants/Pats, but still an excellent and exciting game if you're a real football fan.

As to PFT: it was starting to become a TMZ-type site even before NBC bought it. While Florio started out breaking some interesting news, at some point he just starting throwing anything and everything up there, hoping a couple of stories would stick.

Thus the "heheheheh" ...it was an exciting enough game but I just didn't feel that 'excitement' like some people felt for this game.

I will agree that the 2nd 1/2 was better than the first.

I think this is more a result of the horrendous cash-grab pacing by CBS (Kickoff? Whelp, time for more commercials! Time out? COMMERCIAL!) than the actual game . . . which featured above-average scoring and yards, plus the first-ever onside kick before the 4th Quarter, two compelling storylines, etc. (basically everything people find interesting).

In fact, that's the NFL's dirty little secret: if you eliminate the downtime, there's only about 20 min of actual play. "Boring" MLB games have . . . 30 min. CBS just pukes all over itself during Super Bowl coverage.

So then let me ask...do you think Fox covers the Super Bowl better?

dude...shut up.

Completely agree! Great actual game encased in overproduced, underwhelming packaging.

And no, I didn't watch a second of the half-time show. Carrie Underwood's presentation of the National Anthem had already more than filled my quota for Super Bowl Dazzle.

I'm not really sure there is a difference, to be honest. Either way, it's bad for enjoyment of the game - but since it was the highest-drawing ever, it won't change, unfortunately.

I think Fox would have given me some of those sweet crowd shots of Eli and Archie and Kim Kardashian which would have won some people a few prop bets. Hrmph.

True and I think the commentating is better.

And they have Cleatus.

*dead*

I feel the same way. I didn't have a ton of personal investment (financial or emotional) resting on the game so the overall impression was "bleh", especially in the first half.

Although I'm biased as a Saints fan, that was a fantastic game. It was by no means boring, unless you just wanted to see Peyton Manning come in and stomp on the Saints. Since I was at the game, I didn't see CBS's coverage, but according to Willbon and Kornheiser on PTI, they thought CBS did a great job of covering the game. They specifically mentioned that CBS made it all about football, leaving out all of the extraneous shots of Kim Kardashian and the Mannings but showing Freeney getting retaped when his ankle started hurting him in the second half.

As for the half time show, I got up to get something to eat. They wanted all of us to do these cheesy hand motions with our cell phones. Needless to say, no one did them. The highlight of the show was seeing Pauley D from Jersey Shore walking past the concession stand while I waited for my beer! He looks worse in person!

That's why. lol. You were at the game? How exciting!!

I know that the Minnesota/Saints game was sloppy as heck, but that was an exciting game. Aside from interception and the on-side kick, the Super Bowl didn't keep me on the "edge of my seat." It might be because I really have no vested interest in either the Saints or the Colts, because had it been the Giants my thoughts would have been different (the Giants have def played "boring" games that I didn't think were boring either).

I was! As a Louisiana native, it was a historic moment that I was so glad to be a part of! Still think it was a crazy game....the Saints choosing to go for it on 4th and missing then coming back for a field goal before the half, that on-side kick, the near perfect Manning being picked off for a score, the Colts being held at the 5 yard line by the Saints to win it with 44 secs on the clock when they where significant underdogs! It's what football was meant to be. It proved to the pundits why the teams even play the game!

That's awesome you were actually at the game and got to see your team win its first Super Bowl. That's the perfect sports fan experience.

I know! Week 3, my husband and I decided to buy our plane tickets and rent our hotel room. I made sure I had vacation time booked since I had to be off the Monday afterwards. They looked good, and we knew we could use the tickets another time if they didn't make it. There can only be one first trip to the Super Bowl, and we didn't want to miss it! It was worth every penny.:D

Even though I'm a huge Colts fan and I found the game to be extremely painful, I'm really glad you got to go to the Super Bowl. That's such an awesome thing, to watch your home team win their first Super Bowl in person. Totally jealous.