Game 1: A New QB Rivalry for the Ages

Tannehill v. Luck is the next great AFC QB Rivalry.

I know it’s early to start talking about this, since there was really no rivalry between Andrew Luck and Ryan Tannehill in college, but something inside me (perhaps an intestinal bug or too much Halloween candy) makes me think that Sunday’s game between the Colts and Dolphins is the beginning of a new era of a good old-fashioned AFC rivalry of QBs.

Certainly, it will be a cerebral rivalry, as neither of these men is particularly fiery in their demeanor, but that’s what will add to the mystique. Two young field generals take their armies off to war: one the anointed one, the exquisite surgeon who can bring his side to the promised land; the other an inexperienced, yet intelligent, leader who was thrust into his position earlier than many thought wise, and who has shown immeasurable promise in each battle. Both teams seem to be on the rise with good coaching and a philosophy to develop into a perennial winner, or dare I say, achampion.

Ifeel like this game on Sunday should have John Facenda doing voiceover, NFL Films capturing each moment, and ajauntyfootballtunerousing our spirits in the background. Callings out to old-time and newer-time AFC rivalries should be invoked, with references to Marino and Kelly, Stabler and Bradshaw, Lamonica and Dawson, Elway and Kosar, as well as Brady and Manning. A fever pitch should go through the stadium as these two future titans meet on the field of battle for the first time of many important games.

Make no mistake, this is an historic meeting. Time will bear that weight of that. One day we can look back in pride and say, “I watched that first game between Tannehill and Luck, and it was as good as it is in today’s AFC Championship game,” and we’ll look to our son, daughter, or whomever we are with, smiling that smile that all older NFL fans get when they start to reminisce, and we’ll remember the game that started it all.

That is, if Tannehill plays at all.

If not, then, as Emily Latella once said, “Never mind.”

I'm a 44-year-old dyed-in-the-wool Dolphins fan. My first Dolphins memories are that of the perfect season. I've been following the team all my life, and was a season ticket holder for 25 years from the Orange Bowl through Joe Robbie Stadium, Griese through Woodley through Marino, and now Tannehill.

Chris Monaco

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