It’s a sweepstakes: Peyton Manning, arguably the greatest quarterback to ever play in the NFL, is both healthy and looking for a new team to play for, since he’s expected to be released by the Indianapolis Colts Wednesday. Teams in need of a quarterback are scrambling to woo Manning.
Fans are, too—with homemade websites.
The Daily Dot already reported on Come Home Peyton in January. Run by musician and Tennessee Titans fan Todd Mayo, the site hosts Mayo’s many parody music videos dedicated to bringing Manning back to the state where he played in college.
Most other sites, though, have adopted the petition approach, figuring that if it gathers enough signatures, Manning might be touched by how many newly devoted fans he’d have.
The site with best real-life presence is ManningToMiami.com, which even has a billboard in Florida advertising its URL. A representative for the site declined to give exact details, but told the Daily Dot that the number of fans who had signed a petition on the site is “well into the thousands.”
That’s far more than any other site, but still, other sites are trying.
The most polished of those is peyton2az.com, the product of two Arizona Cardinals fans who run the Birdgang Podcast. Complete with a well-rendered anime-style logo of a smirking Manning in a Cardinals uniform, the site has gathered 514 signatures since going live Feb 25.
Jets fans aren’t far behind. ManningToJets.com has 458 signatures. It also, strangely, encourages fans to purchase a signed Joe Namath jersey.
The least impressive site, unsurprisingly, comes from fans of the hapless Washington Redskins. Despite the page’s name, DC Petition For Peyton doesn’t actually have a working petition. It does, at least, have a cool flash banner.
So far, Manning has given zero indication of where he actually wants to go. The only recent news on him, though, indicates he’s doubly a great addition to whichever city he chooses: several reports have surfaced since Tuesday that he’s a fantastic tipper.
Photo from @manningtomiami
