Unfortunately for the Denver Broncos, they’re still trying to find Peyton Manning’s long-term replacement at quarterback. At least Sunday, Oct. 31, allowed the franchise to travel back in time and celebrate when the team had a consistent starter under center.
The Broncos recently honored Manning at Empower Field and gifted him with a beautiful ceremony, a spot in the Ring of Fame, and an incorrect plaque. One of those doesn’t sound like the rest.
Peyton Manning’s Ring of Fame plaque features an embarrassing grammar error
When the Denver Broncos reached halftime in their 17-10 victory over the Washington Football Team on Halloween, Manning and his family took the field. The legendary quarterback, who played for the Broncos from 2012-15, became the 35th individual to enter the franchise’s Ring of Fame.
The team honored Manning, who entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame earlier this year, with a pillar featuring a depiction of his face and a plaque celebrating his career achievements. Tyler Maun, a Denver-based sportscaster, tweeted an intriguing observation he noticed on the plaque’s first sentence.
“The only five-Most Valuable Player in NFL history, Peyton Manning was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2021.”
Peyton Manning’s Ring of Fame plaque
That’s not a typo on our part. The team gave Manning a plaque reading five-Most Valuable Player instead of five-time Most Valuable Player.
Andrew Mason, a longtime Denver media personality, tweeted the plaque is being “reproduced with the correct wording.” As embarrassing as the situation is, at least it’s easily fixable, and, hopefully for those involved, it will eventually become a humorous story.
Manning isn’t the first athlete with a strange or incorrect honor of late
If there’s any good news involved here, it’s that, like we said, this is a fairly minor error. Manning’s pillar will have a new and correct plaque going forward.
The same can’t be said for some of the busts and statues that professional athletes received in recent years. Soccer great Cristiano Ronaldo has received multiple statues which haven’t exactly captured his likeness.
Legendary Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis’ Pro Football Hall of Fame bust, put simply, looked nothing like him.
The Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame honored Brandi Chastain, a two-time FIFA Women’s World Cup champion, with a bizarre plaque in 2018. After many criticized the lack of a resemblance, the Hall of Fame announced they’d redo the likeness.
Conversely, Pittsburgh Steelers legend Troy Polamalu’s Hall of Fame bust included his trademark long hair, which is strange in its own right.
Why didn’t the Broncos retire Manning’s No. 18 jersey?
You might think a grammatically incorrect plaque would be the biggest storyline here, and it is. But if you said the same thing but replaced “biggest” with “most intriguing,” you’d be wrong.
No Broncos player, understandably, has worn No. 18 since Manning retired in March 2016. However, the team didn’t retire the number during Sunday’s ceremony, which might sound confusing given the other honors.
Actually, the Broncos have had No. 18 retired for nearly 60 years. The Broncos honored Frank Tripucka, the franchise’s first starting quarterback, and retired his No. 18 in 1963. Nearly five decades later, Tripucka — who passed away in September 2013 — allowed Manning to wear the number when he joined the team in 2012.
Therefore, the team had no reason to retire the number again. When the Broncos unveiled the franchise’s retired jerseys in 2016, they co-listed Tripucka and Manning on No. 18.
Broncos fans at least got to see Manning wear his former jersey and connect with Brandon Stokley on a touchdown during halftime. Unfortunately for the Broncos, the five-time NFL MVP won’t be throwing darts to Courtland Sutton or Jerry Jeudy anytime soon.
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