The Voice - Student Newspaper - February 13, 2008

Is talent in their genes?

Two weeks ago on one of America's unrealized holidays we had the two finest teams in the NFL come to our state and go mano-a-mano. It was a history making game for several reasons.

The most obvious, besides the many effects that the game will have on Arizona, is the connection between the young quarterback of the New York Giants and the older, more recognized quarterback of the Indianapolis Colts.

These two gridiron gladiators are noted as two warriors who went to the line and crossed it while slapping their opponents in the face with a cream filled pie. They are sons of one of Mississippi's favorite sons and the man who sparked a song titled "The Ballad of Archie Who," Archie Manning. Brothers Peyton and Eli Manning are back-to-back Super Bowl quarterbacks MVPs.

Peyton and Eli are not the only children of Archie and Olivia Manning. Cooper Manning, who no longer plays football due to health related issues, but who still gives his brothers competition in other forums, is the oldest of the Manning brothers. Cooper, who started out as a quarterback, chose to go the route of wide receiver and was doing very well in college.

Parents expect – no, they hope - that their children will have a better life then the one that they had. The Manning boys have done just that; they have made American history. Just as George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush are parts of American.

Are they the only ones who have it in their genes? Could it be that they have discovered something that the rest of us have not?

No, not at all. There are others in this world, in our own neighborhoods who are making impacts in history. So go out and make some history instead of talking about the others who are making history.