Peyton Manning’s retirement speech Monday in Denver was everything you’d expect from someone who studied theater in school and turned football into a kind of theater, as Daily News columnist Mike Lupica said. It was eloquent and emotional.

“There were other players who were more talented,” he said, choking up frequently. “But there was no one who could out-prepare me and because of that I have no regrets.”

It was a classic example of how to walk away – without bitterness and with gratitude for the roles others have played in your life. In hitting all the right notes, though, Manning added some unusual grace notes. It was, he said, the little things that loomed large in hindsight:

"I’m going to miss a steak dinner at St. Elmo's in Indianapolis after a win. My battles with players named Lynch, Lewis, Thomas, Bruschi, Fletcher, Dawkins, Seau, Urlacher, Polamalu, Harrison, Woodson and Reed. And with coaches like Fisher, Ryan, Belichick, Kiffin, Phillips, Rivera, LeBeau, Crennel, Capers, Lewis, the late Jim Johnson, and so many more. I always felt like I was playing against that middle linebacker or that safety or that defensive coach. ...