Since most of us had to go back to work or class on Tuesday after the New Year's holiday break (and if you had to work over New Year's, our condolences), it's totally understandable if you missed the Pro Football Hall of Fame narrow their list of 26 semifinalists down to 15 finalists. And for the first time ever, the man, the myth, the legend Ty Law is on the finalist ballot.
Good grief, though, this list is loaded:
BREAKING NEWS: Class of 2017 Modern-Era Finalists announced! #PFHOF17 pic.twitter.com/FQJnt7KVHM
— Pro Football HOF (@ProFootballHOF) January 4, 2017
Law, of course, is a three-time Super Bowl champion, a two-time All-Pro, a five-time Pro Bowler, and, most notably, one of Peyton Manning's worst nightmares in the heyday of the Patriots-Colts blood feud. In the 2003 AFC Championship Game alone, Ty picked off Peyton Manning three times, and the Colts ended up only putting 14 points on the board that day. New England, of course, went on to win the Super Bowl that year.
Which brings us to this delightful little tale that CSNNE's Tom Curran gave us a couple summers ago in his "Best of the Belichick Era" series, where Law checks in at #7, behind only Tom Brady, Mike Vrabel, Matt Light, Troy Brown, Tedy Bruschi, and Vince Wilfork. Take it away, Tom!
"You couldn't stay mad at Ty and Ty wasn't going to stay mad at you. He'd say his peace - in extreme terms - and move on. He once bitched at me for not taking his side during his contract battles. (I termed his media circuit as Ty Law's Hungry Man Tour after he told the Boston Globe that he had to feed his family.) "Look how much Peyton Manning makes!" Law hissed at me in the locker room. "Nobody complains about Peyton Manning! And Peyton Manning is going to put me in the Hall!"
The man's got a point! Whether or not Law gets in this year is anybody's guess, especially with that stacked list we saw earlier. But Ty had Peyton's number so badly, he picked off Manning nine times in his career - and five of those were in the playoffs, resulting, of course, in Manningface after glorious Manningface.
Fortunately, we don't have to wait too long to find out whether Law was right after all - the selection committee meets on February 4th.