Us normal folk working a 9-5 don’t want to hear it, but life after sports is a midlife crisis for professional athletes. It’s all they’ve ever worked towards, all they’ve ever known, and eventually, the dream is ripped away in the end. In some cases, the end comes willingly and gracefully. Other times, it’s unwillingly and heartbreaking. Both bring you back to square one in what can be a profound or confusing trip.
The best cases are a joy to witness. Steve Kerr went from playing on a dynasty with the Chicago Bulls to coaching one in the Golden State Warriors. Arnold Palmer went from dominating the golf course to creating one of the all time great soft drinks. George Forman went from terrorizing the boxing ring to monopolizing the grill game.
The worst cases are tough to fathom. Tony Romo went from quarterbacking the Dallas Cowboys to making strange, exasperated noises live on the air in the broadcast booth.
Most recently, Hall of Famer Peyton Manning executive produced the Netflix docuseries, “Quarterback” and it was absolutely amazing. Cameras followed around Marcus Mariota, Patrick Mahomes and Kirk Cousins for a full season to capture everything that comes with being a QB in the NFL on and off the field.
The timing was impeccable – released during the dog days of summer where there’s only baseball to follow and HBO’s “Hard Knocks” isn’t quite here yet. July and most of August is that dead period of the sports calendar where you’re looking for any and all reasons to say “football’s back”.
If you’re still planning on seeing it, click away to enjoy it on its own. Or continue reading, if you want the lowdown on the three signal callers featured in Peyton’s masterpiece.
Marcus Mariota
Mariota was fine. I felt bad for him honestly. It was a tumultuous year for him in a lot of ways and I bet he wanted to just kick the production crew to the curb at a certain point.
It was almost like my brain was conditioned to associate Mariota with a letdown as the episodes progressed.
Tough loss to the Chargers. Ah, so close. Benched by head coach Arthur Smith. That sucks. Surgery on his knee. Ouch. Media goes after him for taking time away from team. Unfortunate. Visits the Atlanta Children’s Hospital to spend time with patients. What a bummer.
Wait….no, that last one was actually pretty cool of him.
Somber content all in all but credit to him for sticking it out and being a good sport.
Patrick Mahomes
Mariota got royally screwed by having his segments back up to Mahomes’. Talk about the complete opposite end of the spectrum.
It’s pretty absurd the camera crew was around to document and capture all the details of Mahomes’ truly legendary playoff run and Super Bowl LVII victory.
The high ankle sprain suffered against the Jaguars in the Divisional Road was obviously a massive story at the time. “Quarterback” gives an exclusive look at conversations with coaches, rehab work with trainers and Pat’s mindset. The way he pushed through it and found a way to win was unbelievable. It almost felt scripted when he rattled off late game scrambles to set up the game winning field goals in both the AFC Championship and the Super Bowl.
I also thought Brittany Mahomes was great. She gets dragged on the internet but I found her to be likeable. She was super engaged, extremely supportive and pretty funny at times. My perception of her totally changed for the better and I hope other people had the same takeaway.
We were deprived of Jackson Mahomes though. We really were. I want answers why he wasn’t allowed any of the limelight. He did still manage to make me laugh, though, even without any speaking parts. Pat just won the Super Bowl, Brittany is sprinting over with their daughter to celebrate and share a moment. Jackson is right on their heels with his back to Pat and his phone outstretched, looking for the perfect selfie to blast out onto his socials. Perfectly Jackson.
Kirk Cousins
Kirk Cousins! The man of the hour. He’s just your average American – doing his very best at his job and scoring deals at department stores.
He’s a franchise quarterback (not up for debate) and led the Vikings to a 8-1 start last season for the first time since 2009. He takes his preparation, training and leadership seriously but also has the ability to let loose and have some fun.
I also appreciated the willingness to step outside his comfort zone and try something new. I certainly wouldn’t get up on the stage and sing to a live audience, with millions watching at home. Definitely not easy in today’s day and age of social media and trolls perusing the interwebs.
What really blew me away was what Kirk does on his designated day off every week. On his break from the mental and physical grind of football, you might guess he puts his feet up on the coach and has personal chefs and assistants cater to his every desire. Nope. He sits down at the kitchen table and sifts through fan mail. He insists on sending handwritten notes back, so the fans can feel appreciated and a part of the Vikings family. Just beyond classy, refreshing and down to earth.
Kirk was also at the center of football lore last season. He led Minnesota to the biggest comeback win in NFL history, after trailing 33-0 with 12:22 left in the 3rd quarter. The win probability at that time was estimated to be 0.4%. After the game, he immediately found his son in the stands and brought him into the locker room where little Turner enjoyed strawberries and chicken tenders around all the guys celebrating. It would’ve been too easy to hang around reporters and gloat about his involvement in quite literally the most improbable come-from-behind victory ever. Instead, he orchestrated a lifelong memory for his son. With Kirk, it’s never about him.
Lastly, I thought he took the loss to the Giants in the playoffs like a professional. Faced the music at the podium as the pundits got their last licks in and drove home to read Turner a bedtime story.
Let’s stick this guy in the oval office when he’s done playing football and see what happens. What do we have to lose? He knows how to learn a playbook, how much harder can navigating geopolitical relations really be?
One can only assume he’d handle president sized problems with the same dignity and grace we saw on “Quarterback”.
“President Cousins, we’ve been contacted by hostile aliens and they’ve requested a meeting with you.“
“Hmmm, alright. Why don’t you get a list of any and all allergies we should be aware of and we’ll have them over my house in Minnesota to break bread. I’ll get a fire going in the backyard for afterwards, we’ll give them some of my old Washington gear so they don’t leave smelling like smoke, we’ll all enjoy some s’mores and see if we can settle our differences.”
I’m gonna be pulling hard for Kirk this season and hoping he gives some thought to politics in the next chapter. My gut tells me he’d fall into that “best case” bucket. Steve Kerr, Arnold Palmer, George Foreman, Kirk Cousins.
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