Dear Peyton Manning,

You did it. You finally did it. And, oh, how you did it!

You got that monkey named Tom Brady off your back and now you're headed to the biggest game of your career that will finally silence your naysayers if you can pull it off one more time. You, along with another quarterback-great named John Elway, represent those underachievers among us who never got the break they deserved until it was well overdue.

Not to bore you with details because I'm sure you caught all of the action, but that AFC Championship game you played against the Patriots tonight was one hell of a barnburner. Despite your past history in the playoffs, especially against Brady, you were favored to win that game. Your defense decided to show up for the playoffs, you had home-field advantage, and you managed to beat the Patriots the last two times you met them (including a shootout at Foxboro this season).

Today, though, Brady and Bill Belichick and the rest of the Pats opened the game by showing us just who they were the past few years where they raked in three Super Bowl victories over the span of four years. You underperformed like you had been the last two playoff games (at least your team then, surprisingly, picked up the slack) and the Patriots ran away with the first half leading 21-6.

At that point, it looked like the New England dynasty would live on with another ring for Brady in the bucket. Boring.

But you roared back, chewing up two-thirds of the 3rd quarter to tie up the game with two touchdowns, and replied to every New England touchdown after that to keep the victory within reach. This time, it was Brady who had the 'Peyton face' on the sidelines as he saw you orchestrate one incredible play after another. You certainly had your share of facial expressions, though, especially after you watched that fumble squirt out of a Colts doggie pile and turned into the first Patriots touchdown of the game and after you smashed your throwing hand into a teammates helmet and grimaced in pain on the sidelines.

Still, none of them are as great as that explosion of joy you had after Marlin Jackson intercepted Brady's pass to put the game away with 0:16 left on the clock. After rookie sensation Joseph Addai put your team up for the first time by 4 points by going into the endzone with a minute left on the clock, you couldn't bear to watch Tom Brady work the field with so much time left. A potentially game-winning drive at that moment was what legends were made of, and Brady certainly has his share of those. You hung your head on the sideline, unable to watch what could potentially keep the talk of "choker" and "can't win the big games" and the Dan Marino comparisons going on indefinitely.

Much credit also goes to the rest of your team and your brilliant head coach, Tony Dungy (who will meet his protégé Lovie Smith in Miami in two weeks). Your defense was able to hold the Patriots to three-and-outs to give you time to tie up and to a field goal late in the 4th quarter and of course there was Jackson's interception to put the game away. Tight end Dallas Clark was able to work the midfield brilliantly, Marvin Harrison came through with the 2-pt. conversion that tied it up, and Reggie Wayne somehow miraculously recovered the football after bobbling it three feet straight into the air on your game-winning drive. And of course, the Colts wouldn't be where they are today without the calm and collected leadership of Tony Dungy.

But the day is yours Peyton. It's time to silence your critics with just one more win this season. This year, Dan Marino will finally beat Joe Montana.

An adoring fan,

Carman Tse