As sports fans, there are certain athletes we just love to hate.  Whether they’ve historically been a fierce rival and have always got the better of your team or they’re just plain ignorant, there are a certain few that hold a special place in our heart… for hating.

As I’ve gotten older, and somewhat more mature depending on you ask, the ‘hate’ has subsided into more of a resentment or dislike.  But that feeling still exists for a special few.  Growing up a Red Sox fan, I obviously always hated Reggie Jackson.  As Gator fans, the city of Gainesville has always collectively hated Bobby Bowden, the altitudinally challenged Terry Bowden, Warrick Dunn, Charlie Ward, i.e., anyone who has consistently gotten the better of us.  Even Bruce Pearl gets on my nerves these days.

Therein lays the rub with Peyton Manning.  Mr. Manning holds a special place in the hearts of all Gator fans.

As most of you know, Peyton first earned his reputation for not “winning the big one” at his four years at Tennessee when he was unable to best the Spurrier and Wuerffel-led Florida Gators.  Each year, Tennessee showed tremendous promise, yet went down to defeat, often embarrassingly.  In fact, in 1995 Sports Illustrated visited Knoxville to do their cover story on Peyton, and after outplaying him, Wuerffel graced the cover that week.  When Peyton Manning announced he was returning to Tennessee for his senior year for another shot at beating Florida, Coach Spurrier mocked that Manning had only come back for another Citrus Bowl MVP award.

This is why I currently harbor absolutely no ill-will at all towards one of the more polarizing sports figures today.  You can't hate someone that never beat you.  Yankees fans never hated Red Sox fans as much as they were hated in return... until 2004, of course.  If you're a Patriots fan, you don't hate the Colts, but Colts fans sure as heckfire hate the Pats (and apparently so do Charger fans).

Recent posts have polled you, asking whether you’d like to see Peyton finally get the proverbial #### off his back with a Super Bowl victory, or continue to be the goat, once again falling short of his perceived greatness.  To me, it doesn't really matter.

Of course, I still wince every time I see Yankee pitching coach Ron Guidry in pinstripes.  Or when I see Keith Hernandez on Seinfeld re-runs.  But Peyton is just Peyton to me.  I wish him well, so long as he's not wearing orange.