Well, sure. Both seemed like dynamite quarterbacks in 1998 as they became eligible for the NFL. Teams fought each other to get either one. Many teams actually considered Leaf to be the better QB, including the Chargers, much to their sorrow. The question is, why did one succeed so spectacularly while the other failed so miserably? Chance? Fate? Morals?

 

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Everything is clearer for me in the morning.

This comes from my morning meditation on a Tarot card, The Fifth major arcanum, The Pope. It is related to our discussion.

"There are two kinds of respiration, horizontal and vertical. Horizontal respiration takes place between the outside and the inside [Phlegm's explanation is elegant] and vertical respiration takes place between [in metaphysical space] above and below. The sting of death or the essential crisis of the supreme agony is the abrupt passage from horizontal to vertical respiration. Yet, he who has learned vertical respiration while living will be spared the sting of death. For him the nature of death will not be a right angle , but an arc of a circle. The transition is gradual instead of rectangular." Meditations on The Tarot a Journey into Christian Hermeticism pp100-101.

This will complete my perspective of Peyton Manning and Ryan Leaf. There is no difference between them. They are part of a greater system, in a phenomenological form (i.e. of or relating to things wrapped in time-space).

[added by me]

 

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Leaf came from WSU.

There's your problem right there.

 

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Dedication, mental fortitude, luck (or bad luck) which tends to compound itself, background, determination, self esteem, tenacity... though both were top draft picks, I'm sure they're very different people. Talent itself is not enough to carry you through life.

Leaf's fall is almost as spectacular as Manning's success. He could have been a mediocre QB, a backup, or even simply fallen into anonymity as a used car salesman, but failure in one area of life can easily lead to failure in all areas. Why didn't he succeed in the NFL? Athletes have ups and downs - not everyone adjusts well to the NFL. Plus there's only one Manning and only a handful that are in the same league. Most QBs are okay with this and aspire to be like their idols - others simply crumble in defeat and wither away especially if they're constantly compared. How dedicated was he to the game? That's usually the difference maker... you can have average talent and work super hard and become good. But even with exceptional talent, if you don't try or take it seriously, or have a rather destructive personality regarding your teammates and lifestyle, you will not make it far. I don't think there's anything more self destructive than when a person feels like a worthless loser (especially when that's all they hear.) Sports are very taxing on the psyche when things go bad - not just anybody can put up with the criticism and keep going. While some feed on negativity and pressure, many cannot deal.

For some people, especially those who are more sensitive or less in control of their feelings, setbacks often snowball. I'd say it's mental weakness and an inability or unwillingness to deal, accept, and move on to perhaps less green pastures but fruitful all the same.


Modeeb picked a rather difficult analogy. If Payton is the lifebringer in the form of fresh oxigenated blood, then Leaf is the used up empty vessel that needs to be recharged. He's on the vein track while Payton rides in the artery. Leaf may have never been fated to be the biggest brightest red blood cell, but he could have been just one of many others - instead he gave up, was taken over by a virus, and picked up by the antibodies. Hopefully he makes it back to the heart and changes direction.

Lady, that is a good interpretation of my analogy and adds much.

I believe Phlegm posed a very difficult question and i wanted to respond not only to the phenomenal (physical) blood part of physical existence, but to the respiratory part from a metaphysical perspective. We beings are life blood in the Circulatory System of Existence.

 

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