American Football: Difference between revisions

** Both Peyton and Eli were subjects of the "[http://www.manningface.com/ Manning Face]" meme, coined by ESPN columnist Bill Simmons.

* '''Dan Marino''' was the Hall of Fame Dolphins QB who threw for a then-record 61,361 yards, and is the current or former holder of many other passing records. Marino had the unfortunate luck to be one of the all time greats at quarterback at a time when several other "greatest of all time" candidates (Joe Montana, Troy Aikman, John Elway, Steve Young, Brett Favre) were playing. Thus he managed the paradoxical feat of setting all kinds of records while his team was just good enough to make it into the playoffs and then lose badly in the first round. He is often called "The best quarterback to never win a Super Bowl".

* '''Joe Montana''' was the quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers during their 1980s dominance. He was one half of the famous play in the 1981 NFC Championship game known in NFL lore as "The Catch", along with Dwight Clark; he also led the 49ers on a 92-yard touchdown drive to win Super Bowl XXIII. Montana played in and won 4 Super Bowls and never had an interception in any of them. Two-time MVP and three-time Super Bowl MVP. Considered by some to be the greatest player in history, as well as [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Kj_GLEGgsk probably its most famous]. Also known for having [[Awesome McCoolname|quite possibly the coolest name in sports]].

* '''Randy Moss''' was a wide receiver, formerly of the Minnesota Vikings, Oakland Raiders, New England Patriots and Tennessee Titans. He has the distinction of being the top target for the two highest scoring teams of all time (the 1998 Vikings and the 2007 Patriots), currently holds the record for touchdown receptions in a season (23, 2007) and is 3rd in most of the all-time stats behind the also retired Jerry Rice and Marvin Harrison. Known as a loose cannon prior to joining New England; in Minnesota he openly admitted to coasting during games, hit a traffic cop with his car, and fake mooned the fans in Green Bay after scoring a touchdown. During the 2010 season, he was part of a bizarre rollercoaster of trades/releases/signings that saw him traded back to Minnesota...for all of one month, after which he was waived and picked up by Tennessee. He then retired before the next season began.

* The '''Cincinnati Bengals''' are a historically bad team that has been in two Super Bowls (XVI and XXIII) and lost both to the San Francisco 49ers. Pretty much came into existence solely as a [[Take That]] effort to allow former Cleveland Browns coach Paul Brown to come back to the league after being fired years before; the team even uses the same helmet color as the Browns. Currently suffering from an image problem due to having more players arrested in the past two years than every other team combined. Like every other team that has at some point been associated with the state of Ohio, they are bitter rivals of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Until recently, they were famous as the home of the NFL's resident [[Cloudcuckoolander]], wide receiver Chad Ochocinco (Formerly Chad Johnson), currently of New England. They've managed to shock pretty much everyone this season, especially their own fans, by doing very well, largely thanks to the work of rookie quarterback Andy "the Red Rifle" Dalton, rookie wide receiver A. J. Green, and a very nice defense.

* The '''Cleveland Browns''' are a former powerhouse that has won and appeared in more professional championships than any other team, but has not been to a championship game since 1964. Known for choking in the clutch, especially against the Denver Broncos in the mid to late 1980s. (Don't ask Browns fans about [[Berserk Button|"The Fumble"]]). After the original team left in 1996, the city filed a federal lawsuit and was awarded the team name, colors, and franchise history, then an expansion team in 1999. Since then, the team has been a laughingstock. Rivals of the Pittsburgh Steelers and (to a lesser extent) the Baltimore Ravens, though this more or less just makes them a punchline in Pittsburgh and Baltimore.

* The '''Houston Texans''' are the NFL's newest franchise, having begun play in 2002. Haven't really done anything of note yet. After the Houston Oilers became the Tennessee Oilers, who then became the Tennessee Titans, Houston was promised an expansion team. However, since the Titans owned (and refused to sell) the rights to the Oilers name and colors (Titans owner Bud Adams specifically had the team spend one season as the "Tennessee Oilers" so that a repeat of the Cleveland Browns situation would be impossible), they based their name after the original Houston Texans, a WFL team that played in 1974. After several seasons at or below mediocrity, the Texans broke through in 2011 with their first division win and the franchise's first playoff birth.

* The '''Indianapolis Colts''' are a mediocre franchise that suddenly became dominant after drafting popular media-darling quarterback Peyton Manning in 1998. With Manning on the team, they became a regular playoff contender (including a Super Bowl win in 2007), but when he was out for the 2011 season due to a neck injury they instantly fell to worst in the league. The Colts are a long-running franchise that dates, in some form, all the way back to 1913<ref>as the Dayton Triangles</ref>. They were in Baltimore until they literally escaped in moving vans in the middle of the night in 1983; the city of Baltimore now wishes they had had the presence of mind to do to this team what Cleveland did to the Browns... A team of many firsts. As the Baltimore Colts, they had the first cheerleading squad and marching band.<ref> The band still exists and is the official marching band of the Ravens. Its attempts to stay in Baltimore despite the lack of a team were featured in an ESPN 30 for 30 documentary.</ref> They also won the first-ever sudden-death overtime game, which has sometimes been referred to as "The Greatest Game Ever Played". Divisional rivals of Tennessee, Jacksonville and Houston.