Who are you cheering for? In the days leading up to the Super Bowl, that question was asked an exhausting amount. Personally, I’m more of a baseball girl (10 days until Spring Training). In fact, I decided to go grocery shopping during the game tonight, and it was one of the better ideas that I have had.

However, I am very much cheering for Peyton Manning. I was raised in a Manning loving family. When my brother, Brett, was young, he took an interest in the Indianapolis Colts. My mom was famous for taking our interests to the extreme. Watching Colts games became a family affair and many trips were made to Indianapolis. One day I got the idea to turn Brett’s room into a Colts locker room. I was sure she would say no, based solely on the time I asked her if I could redo my room in 5th Grade based on the most recent trends in my American Girl Magazine. Her response? “You’re going to college soon so there is no point.” 5th Grade, people. But when I wanted to paint his room Colts blue, she was all for it.

When there were talks of Peyton leaving the Colts, my mom had a bit of an identity crisis. In a sport filled with bad influences, she could not have asked for a better role model for her son. Brett kept his allegiances to the Colts.  My mom declared herself a Denver Broncos fan. For Christmas one year, I found her the perfect shirt. It said “All Colts Grow Up to be Broncos.”

Her enthusiasm for the Colts never faded though, because she loved what her kids loved.

My mom grew up just outside of Chicago and was raised as a Chicago Cubs fan. In fact, her dad was friends with the candy supplier at Wrigley Field, so she spent a lot of time at baseball games, with her favorite candy (anything chocolate) waiting for her when she arrived. She felt it was important that her kids also grew up going to baseball games. It was easier for us to get to St. Louis, so we went to Cardinals games. Therefore, I grew up under the false assumption that we were Cardinals fans. I fell in love with Cardinals baseball and she supported that love in every way she could. Once I realized she was a Cubs fan cheering for the Cardinals, I told her she couldn’t have it both ways. She responded, “I’m not a Cardinals fan, I’m a Laura fan!”

As the game came to an end tonight, the stream of text messages coming through my phone is a beautiful reminder of how many people were “Sybs fans” cheering for the Manning and the Broncos tonight, thinking of her. Anyone who had ever watched football with my mom knows that it is a special (and stressful) experience. I can only imagine the very special first-hand experience God had this evening with the one and only Sybs cheering on her precious Peyton Manning.