Football fans are pretty excited in Denver, Colorado this week.
That’s because football superstar, Peyton Manning, has decided to join the Denver Broncos.
Manning is considered one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game. He is the only player in the NFL to be named Most Valuable Player (MVP) four times.
Because he’s so good, the 35-year-old could choose just about any team to play for. He chose the Broncos because he thinks they can win the Super Bowl. He wants another Super Bowl ring.
Manning has played for the Indianapolis Colts since 1998. As their quarterback, he helped them win the Super Bowl in 2007.
Manning comes from a long line of great quarterbacks. His father is Archie Manning, who played QB for New Orleans. His younger brother, Eli Manning, is the quarterback for the New York Giants, who won the Super Bowl this year.
Peyton Manning signed an agreement to play for the Broncos for the next five years. According to the Denver Post newspaper, he’ll be paid more than $90-million.
Of course, the Broncos already have a quarterback—and a good one—who helped pull the team out of a major slump last year. Tim Tebow, the Broncos’ very popular quarterback, will likely be traded so Manning can take his place.
If Manning does take the Broncos to the Super Bowl this year, it’s interesting that the game will be played in New Orleans—Manning’s home town. However, as the Denver Post put it, “Denver is Manning’s home now.”
CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS
By Kathleen Tilly
Writing/Discussion Prompt
Some sports journalists believe that the addition of Peyton Manning will make the Broncos one of the best teams in the league. Do you think one player can have such a great impact?
Reading Prompt: Making Inferences/Interpreting Texts
How do you think different people will react to this news? For example, how might Broncos and Colts fans react differently? How might Tim Tebow react to this decision?
Primary
Make inferences about texts using stated and implied ideas from the texts as evidence (OME, Reading: 1.5).
Junior
Use stated and implied ideas in texts to make inferences and construct meaning (OME, Reading: 1.5).
Intermediate
Develop and explain interpretations of increasingly complex or difficult texts using stated and implied ideas from the texts to support their interpretations (OME, Reading: 1.5).
Grammar Feature: Compound Words
Compound words are single words that are made up of two individual words. Compound words in the article are: football, newspaper, superstar, quarterback.
Write a list of as many compound words as you can think of. Identify which two words make up each compound word.
