It’s almost as if Peyton Manning and John Lynch were meant to go into the Hall of Fame together.
They are longtime friends, having bonded during Pro Bowl appearances in the salad days of the all-star game, when it was played in Honolulu a week after the Super Bowl and the hotel-bar beverages were as much a part of the experience as the football itself.
“Our wives would tell you that it was a little nauseating because we would sit there and talk football for hours and drink mai tais for hours as we shared our love of the game, and really just started to see that we had a lot of commonalities, as you do with so many people at the Pro Bowls,” Lynch recalled.
Friends. Broncos. Hall of Famers.
Lynch and Manning never played a game that mattered together. But they truly belong alongside each other in the Class of 2021.
For one thing, Lynch helped recruit Manning to Denver in 2012. Lynch had called Denver home since signing with the Broncos in 2004, and was one of those who conveyed to Manning just what kind of special place existed where the high prairie meets the jagged mountains.
“I promised him that I’d forever be there when we recruited him to Denver, but circumstances brought us back out to California,” Lynch said. “But it was such a great place to live. Such a first-class organization.”
When Manning made his tour, Lynch knew exactly what it was like to be on the market after dealing with neck problems. A stinger he dealt with in 2003 led to the Buccaneers releasing him the following March. Excitement reigned after Lynch signed — especially on the heels of the Broncos’ trade for Champ Bailey — but questions lingered regarding just how long the then-12-year veteran would hold up.
The Broncos did right by Lynch, and the safety knew they would do right by Manning as he dealt with his own neck problems, too.
“It was an anxious period of time coming off an injury, learning new teammates, new coaches, a lot of the same things that Tom Brady’s having to go through right now,” Manning recalled. “I was nervous. I did not know how it was going to play out. But Denver, the Broncos organization, John Elway, John Fox, Mr. Bowlen — I remember having a couple of conversations with him that first year, even though his health was declining — everybody made me feel welcome, and that was really helpful in this kind of transition period for this second chapter of my football career.
“I felt really lucky to play four wonderful years there, be a part of another championship team.”
Denver made both Lynch and Manning feel at home — even though coming to the city in the first place was their backup plan. Lynch wanted to be a Buccaneer for life. Manning wanted to play his entire career in the royal blue and white of the Indianapolis Colts.
“As I’ve said many times, it’s not what I wanted, because I always wanted to play [my entire career] for the team that drafted me, because I think every player should shoot for that goal, and not many get to do it,” Manning said. “John Elway got to do it. Troy Aikman, Dan Marino, my brother Eli got to do it. But things happen.
“Injuries come into play, and you’ve got to find somewhere else to play. Denver was the best place for me, and I’m really proud of my time there with the Denver Broncos.”
Lynch feels the same about his four years in Denver.
“It’s interesting right now, thinking of the parallels,” he said. “The same thing — I dreamed of playing my whole career in Tampa, but injuries made it such where we kind of agreed to move on. I’ll never forget Mike Shanahan saying, ‘I think this is the perfect place for you.’
Shanahan was right. It was perfect for Lynch. And Lynch was right eight years later: Denver was perfect for Manning.
Oh, and those Pro Bowl mai tais? In a trick straight out of a great Hollywood buddy flick, Lynch and Manning conspired to ensure that neither of them footed the bill.
“What [Lynch] forgot to mention is that those may tais, we would put on whoever the rookie participant was,” Manning recalled. “We’d get his room number, and all those mai tais were being bought by a kicker for the Buffalo Bills, I think [Brian] Moorman bought a lot of rounds for us one year.”
Earlier this month, the drinks had changed. Manning, Lynch, Eli Manning and an unnamed friend celebrated the pending Hall of Fame announcement together, toasting with champagne on the golf course.
Maybe next time, Lynch and Manning will wear their gold jackets, pull out the pictures of their Hall of Fame busts and Broncos Ring of Fame pillars — since Manning will certainly be going there this year, too — and toast to their accomplishment.
And they can also toast to being able to share the spoils of their success together. When they sit on the stage in Canton for their induction, they will cement a bond that will link them for all time — not just as Broncos, but as immortals of the game.
