12 Greatest Moments from when ESPN Picked Leaf Over Manning
It is NFL draft day and we are throwing it back to the most watched NFL Draft in Montana history – Peyton Manning vs. Montana native Ryan Leaf.
We at the Montana Mint figured there was no better way to celebrate than counting down our favorite moments from when ESPN The Magazine hilariously argued for Leaf over Manning.
Here are our favorite 12 moments from the article…
The writer compares Leaf to Favre
“You’ve got the No. 1 pick: Who’s it going to be? Peyton Manning, everybody’s All-American with perfect genes? Or Ryan Leaf, Favre-like gunslinger, bully enough to flick away 300-pound linemen?”
And a Hall of Famer
“Come 2018, Ryan Leaf, not Manning, will be strutting up to a podium in Canton.”
(to be fair, a lot can happen in the next four years)
How Ryan Leaf totally got the 90s
“You might find Ryan Leaf backstage at a Matchbox 20 concert begging for the mike”
This quote from Ryan Leaf
“Hey, man, mind if we do the interview in the Jacuzzi?”
And this one…
“I watch film as much as Peyton does, I just don’t tell everyone about it.”
(doubt it, bro)
And when Leaf tries to describe the differences between him and Manning
“I come from Great Falls, Montana,” he says with a smile. “My father isn’t an NFL quarterback. He sells insurance.”
(“I don’t think that’s the complete list” – Peyton Manning)
How it’s clear Ryan (a Montana native) didn’t really like Montana…
“When people ask where I’m from, I tell them Washington, because that’s where I feel the most comforted by the people”
(not pictured: Pullman, WA)
And Montana didn’t really like Ryan…
“At [CMR], Leaf’s cockiness caused problems, particularly on the basketball court… Once he gave a crowd the finger.”
… at all.
“To some in Montana, Ryan’s the prince of darkness.”
How this story from his freshman year at WSU perfectly sums up Leaf’s career
” ‘All 75,000 start booing. Ryan, a freshman, marches out to the 50-yard line and starts waving his arms, ‘C’mon, let’s go, I’m here. Hey, Cougars, I’m leading you guys to the promised land. Screw you, guys. Boo me, I love it.’ Leaf lost the game.”
When the author completely dismisses a Leaf naysayer as being out of touch.
One curmudgeon offensive coordinator thinks Leaf is trouble. “His attitude is a problem,” says our coach. “His teammates aren’t going to put up with it. The press isn’t going to put up with it
And this fun, pre-advanced stats gem.
“You know what kind of quarterback wins the most games? The one with the biggest cojones. Leaf’s got a giant pair. He’ll do fine.”
(sounds like a simmons quote)
As ridiculous as it seems, Leaf or Manning was a legitimate question in 1998. So we have to cut the author of the piece a little slack. The message as always boys and girls: Drugs are bad.
About the Author
Montana Parlay Born in Billings. Attended MSU. Likes sports, enjoys gambling, loves Montana. Purveyor of wit and bullshit. Wannabe poet, occasional writer.
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