Kiszla: Peyton Manning’s remarkable run with Broncos started with bounce pass to Todd Helton – The Denver Post

A wonderful, unlikely love affair between Peyton Manning and Colorado started nearly 10 years ago with an ugly pass to Rockies first baseman Todd Helton, who scooped a weak toss out of the dirt on one hop from a Hall of Fame quarterback who had forgotten how to throw a football.

“We were out there on the field, walking around and we had a ball,” Manning told me. “Helton said, ‘Let’s throw some.’ And I told him: ‘Nope. I’m not throwing out here at Coors Field, because I don’t know who’s watching.’ ”

In excrutiating detail, he remembers that first embarrassing pass in Denver behind closed doors in the summer of 2011, when Manning revealed to Helton what a massive undertaking his NFL comeback story would prove to be.

“We went into the (indoor) batting cage to throw,” Manning said. “And I want to say Helton was 10 yards from me. I one-hopped it to him. He thought I was joking.”

Fast forward nearly a decade from that painful moment of vulnerability, as the football world stands to cheer Manning for his election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. All hail the son of Archie, brother to Eli, proud member of America’s first football family. And one more thing: A football icon who could live anywhere in the world, but has adopted Denver as his home.

“It has certainly been a fun ride. But it’s been a fun ride because I’ve had so many people to share it with,” Manning said. “If you had to do this alone, celebrate a win by yourself or suffer a disappointing loss by yourself, it just wouldn’t mean anything.”

As the starting quarterback in Denver from a 31-19 victory over the Steelers in September 2012 through Super Bowl 50 in Feburary 2016, Manning threw for a mind-boggling 17,112 yards and 140 touchdowns in four short years.

But I would argue none of his completions were more critical to Chapter 2 of his NFL career than the pass he skipped to Helton, who invited Manning to rehab from neck surgeries with the Rockies during the NFL lockout in 2011.

Until his fellow University of Tennessee alum offered help, the lockout had forced Manning to get treatment at an Indiana clinic open to the public, where “the guy next to me wants to know who to draft for his fantasy team,” he recalled, laughing. “And that’s when Helton said: ‘Come out here (to Denver) and I’ll have the Rockies guys rehab you.”

Helton made Manning feel immediately at home in Broncos County at a critical time when one of the greatest QBs who has ever lived fought his gravest moment of self-doubt. Without the friendship of two brothers united in Tennessee orange, I’m not certain Manning would’ve ever taken a snap in Broncos orange.

“I’m a guy who has never been sure of myself and that’s what drives me,” Helton confessed to me near the end of his run with the Rockies, done proud by each of his 2,519 career hits. “But Peyton Manning is way more driven than me. Way more. We’re not even in the same universe.”

A remarkable run with the Broncos ended with Manning’s 200th overall victory, perhaps none more rewarding than the 24-10 Super Bowl upset of Carolina that allowed him to ride off into the sunset with a championship ring.

But if you’re asking me, maybe an even bigger upset is how Manning has become one of us, transforming from just another interloper from the Midwest to one of Colorado’s favorite sons. Or have you forgotten that a very vocal minority in Broncos Country cursed his arrival, wanting absolutely nothing to do with Indy’s longtime quarterback when John Elway took an expensive risk on Manning’s damaged right arm and signed him as a free agent to replace the wildly popular Tim Tebow?

“The acquisition of Peyton Manning is the worst day of my life where the Broncos are concerned,” David Burns, a die-hard fan from the Western Slope, told me in March 2012. “I’m sure Manning’s a great guy and wonderful human being, but I can’t forget how he has humiliated the Broncos during his tenure with the Colts. I’ve referred to him numerous times as ‘The Broncos Killer,’ and Peyton landing in Denver is despicable and weird. Some things are unnatural. Peyton is orange and blue is that to me.”

Well, how do you like PFM now, my friends?

Manning and wife, Ashley, have put down serious roots, raising their family in our great state, making their home here after the QB hung up his helmet after 17 pro seasons when he could’ve easily chosen instead to relocate and enjoy life as the prince of Indianapolis or the governor of Tennessee.

“I would admit moving is a pain, that would probably be some part of the decision,” Manning joked. “But I would give more of the credit to the city Denver to be such a great place to live.”

Known for a sharp eye for detail that allowed him to see the holes in a defense before the ball was snapped, Manning often spent hours before kickoff scouring the same game-day program sold to fans. How PFM is this? He would memorize the names, numbers, college and hometown of players for both teams, while also double-checking to be certain his own personal history was accurately represented.

“Every game I ever played, I was always reminded of the places I had been and who I was representing,” Manning said.

Born in New Orleans, taught in Tennessee how to become a man and hailed in Indy as a legend, Manning could live anywhere. But game knows game. And one of the greatest QBs to ever spin a football decided to settle down in the USA’s greatest city. (OK, so maybe I’m a little biased.)

After being ignored by the Hall for so long, having another player from Denver enshrined in Canton, Ohio, is cool.

But know what might be even cooler?

Peyton Manning chose to be one of us. Broncos Country is better for it.

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