Griffin-Luck VS. Magic-Bird

A number of months ago, probably December, about the time Robert Griffin III was scooping up his Heisman Trophy, it occurred to me that Andrew Luck and RGIII could end up meaning a great deal to the NFL. Perhaps as much as Larry Bird and Magic Johnson did to the NBA in the early 1980s.

The past month, a downtime without any OTAs, has been a landmine of off-the-field player misbehavior in the NFL and the image of the league is as unvarnished as it’s ever been.

The NFL needs a savior — or two. Enter Griffin-Luck (not to be confused with Gryffindor).

Could the number one draft choice, Andrew Luck, and the number two draft pick, Robert Griffin III, pull a rabbit out of the hat for the league? Could these two form a rivalry that includes championships and gripping head-to-head competition like Bird and Magic povided three decades ago for the NBA?

Larry Bird and Magic Johnson faced off in the 1979 NCAA men’s national basketball championship between Michigan State and Indiana State. That was the seed for their incredible rivalry throughout the next decade which captured the hearts and imaginations of two cities, as well as a worldwide audience.

Luck and Griffin had no such national championship to call — the genesis of their donnybrook. However, they did share in a couple of significant events to establish bragging rights to determine — who’s the better quarterback. Both the competition for the Heisman Trophy — and the clash to be the number one pick in the draft — may be just enough for the league to leverage, in order to interest fans in something besides current player’s DUIs or drugs possession arrests.

Race relations were clearly different in the 1980s than they are today but, there’s no denying that Andrew Luck is white and RGIII is not. With Bird and Johnson there was some tension created from that difference alone. In today’s world, I’m not sure it’s in any way relevant. What was more important for the Ervin Johnson/Larry Bird rivalry was that — Bird just didn’t like Johnson and that had everything to do with him losing the last game of his college career and nothing to do with race.

While the Washington Redskins, for whom RGIII plays, have several hotly contested rivalries — the Indianapolis Colts, for whom Andrew Luck plays, is not one of them. The NFL has wisely scheduled a game between the two young alpha dawgs but, the game is scheduled in the third game of the preseason. You can probably expect a regular season sized audience to tune in for that game. However, since the game means nothing in the standings and you know neither team is going to, over do it, with their freshman franchise QBs on the line, the game will lack a certain luster, as many preseason games do. So, don’t expect any fireworks.

However, if by chance, somehow, someway, and for some reason, the two QBs begin to battle each other score-for-score — matching drive-for-drive — even if it’s just for one half of the game — it will be on.

And a rivalry will take flight. Literally and figuratively.

While neither of these teams appears to be ready to contend — the interest in a tug-of-war between these two phenoms will skyrocket — if they come out fighting on August 25th.

You can bet the league will be hoping for that.

An undeniable likeness between RGIII/Luck and Magic/Bird is — each of them is so incredibly likable and personable. Also, the talent level seems to be very similar, as both Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III project to be stars in the league for years to come.

Now, it may not be appropriate to project these two young quarterbacks as future hall of famers but, they both come into the league with such great promise — it’s hard not to see some similarities to two of the most popular players that ever graced a basketball court and who also escorted each other into their league, the NBA.

Peyton Manning and Tom Brady came into the league a couple of years apart and, have served a delicious slice of humble pie for each other over the past decade.  They may still not disappoint should Manning make it all the way back from his neck surgeries last season. However, the inception of their rivalry was nothing like Magic and Bird — nor Luck and RGIII for that matter. No, these two newbies to the big leagues, have a great opportunity to share an ongoing challenge over the next 10-plus seasons.

The fact that they are coming in together — since there’s an ongoing question about who’s the best — can make for intrigue that can simultaneously soothe — and confuse — the masses of NFL fans who just want to forget about work for an afternoon.

Ali had his Frazier. Borg had his Connors. Coke has it’s Pepsi. And now Luck has his RGIII — or is it — RGIII has his Luck? You see, that’s yet to be determined.

One thing is certain: in all of these individual rivalries — because of the rivalry — the focus is 100% on their sport and not what’s going on off-the-field.

Of course, the NFL would also benefit greatly from a unique QB rivalry for people looking for a reason to believe that the league is filled with more than a bunch of gangstah-wannabes.

The NBA game may be dramatically different from the NFL game — and Bird and Magic may be out of everybody’s league — and RGIII and Andrew Luck will never actually face each other on the field of play — and the comparison, in the long run, may not hold water — but, Robert Griffin III and Andrew Luck have a chance to create something special.

So, what do you think are the chances are that this rivalry — will become one? Will theirs, rival Bird and Magic’s rivalry? Can they help the league?