Manning vs. Miller

[genius]

Which athlete has been more important to his team and the franchise: Peyton Manning or Reggie Miller? Manning's championship certainly gives him a significant edge, but on balance, which of these two superstars has meant the most to the Colts and Pacers? Let the debate begin.

[genius]

My vote goes to Reggie Miller. His presence and leadership were enormously valuable to a team in a sport where individual greatness can have a tremendous impact. And, Miller came to Indiana with far less star power and public support than Manning. There's no question that while Miller only knocked on the door, Peyton kicked it in bringing Indy it's first world championship. But, in my judgment, Miller has meant more to the Pacers than Manning to the Colts. Reggie took a truly awful franchise and turned it into a perennial contender. Yes, before Manning, the Colts were awful too, but had sniffed the Super Bowl with Jim Harbaugh and company. Thus, Reggie gets the nod.

[goteamgo]

Great question...but I think it's too soon to tell. Peyton still has some good years ahead of him. When he hangs up the spikes, then we can see his accomplishments as compared to Reggie's. If I had to pick one today I'd probably give the nod to Reggie as well, for some of the reasons you mentioned, but that's not fair to Peyton. If he leads this team to another Super Bowl title and plays for at least another 5 years I think he very well will surpass Reggie.

[Fiftysumthin]

An absolute "circle argument" with no definitive conclusion possible. It isn't that either was more important in his value to their franchise....isn't it really a conclusive discussion acknowledging each has been the lifetime MVP of our teams???
I sure don't fathom Latrell Sprewell, Gary Payton or any other perimeter player having the court ability, fan appeal and team leadership over the past 20 years who could have brought what Reggie Miller meant to the Pacers.
Likewise, who, including Joe Montana and John Elway, could have provided more for us than Peyton Manning??
Both of these men are living legends and, God forbid, we forget Tony Dungy in this forum.
We are absolutely blessed!

[radioguy]

Very good question. I think the way to go about it is to look at how the teams they played for would/did do when they did not play. Which also posses another problem. The problem, since arriving in Indy, Manning has taken virtually all of the snaps so it's really hard to see what the Colts would do without him. I would have to give the player nod to Manning from this standpoint....if he was having an off game, it was harder for the Colts to win than for the Pacers to win if Miller was having an off game. I do agree with Fiftysumthin. We also have to remember Tony Dungy as far as the Colts. But don't forget Larry Bird as coach when Reggie and company made a run at the NBA title.

[jack]

i think that manning has a significant edge on miller. If you dont remember the colts were scouting ryan leaf and peyton manning and ryan leaf was favored. Well i dk wat happened to ryan leaf in the nfl ha he was awful and u can c wat peyton has done, he is changing indiana into a football state. Also i think NBA is a joke nemore so i have very little respect for their players.

[hsbbfan]

.

[Cranky]

It has to be Peyton, he took the Colts from the doldrums and made them a legitimate NFL contender, ultimately leading to a World Championship (Super Bowl) for not only the city of Indianapolis, but for the entire state of Indiana. No disrespect to Miller, but he was never quite good to get the Pacers over the hump and win an NBA championship. Peyton still has many games left to play for the Colts, which will only pad his value to his team, the league and the sports fans of both Indianapolis and the state of Indiana.