As the Indianapolis Colts have made their traditional early exit from the playoffs, we are smack in the middle of yet another round of "Manning Can't Win The Big One."

University of Tennessee fans (many of whom have more allegiance to Peyton Manning than the nearby Tennessee Titans) are left to wonder, "why?" Why all the hate for their favorite son?

Why does Manning get saddled with the "can't win the big one" label while Tony Dungy, Marvin Harrison and Mike Vanderjagt escape ?

Why does the media endlessly play a clip of Manning questioning his team's pass protection, yet ignore his defense of his teammate Vanderjagt, which took place in the same press conference?

Strictly in the interest of science, I've listed below what I believe to be the five main reasons for all of the anti-Manning sentiment out there.

(To those of you who've named a child Peyton or have the No. 16 tattooed just above your heart, the messenger kindly asks you not to shoot him.)

"Don't drink. Don't smoke. What do you do? Goody Two. Goody Two. Goody, Goody Two Shoes." -- Adam Ant

Face it, who really likes a squeaky-clean "Good Guy?" Not Americans. No, we like our heroes to have an edge to them.

Who was cooler -- Luke Skywalker or Darth Vader? Joe Friday or "Dirty Harry?" Shiny-toothed Superman or the somewhat twisted Batman?

I think that's part of the reason so many experts liked the beer-bellied Ryan Leaf over the fair-haired Manning in the 1998 NFL draft. Leaf was a "bad boy," Manning was a "choir boy."

Sadly, the "choir boy" thing just doesn't get you very far ... except with parents who have daughters of dating age. And it's likely even they think, "is he an Eddie Haskell?"

"I bet he moons people," they say under their breath.

Some might site Patriots quarterback Tom Brady as the exception to my "Good Guy" rule. But while Peyton is asking grocery clerks for their autographs and listening to Kenny Chesney, Brady is hosting "Saturday Night Live" and dating Hollywood starlets.

Even "Mr. Nice Guy" Brady has a little bit more edge to him than Manning.

"It's all hype. All hype. But your gonna fall down." -- Longpigs

No one sets records like Manning. Whether as a Vol or as a Colt, Manning has always put up numbers deserving of major headlines and "SportsCenter" coverage.

That's why I truly believe that many anti-Manning-ites are simply tired of hearing about him. And this backlash began even before Peyton traded his orange No. 16 for a blue No. 18.

In 1997, Heisman voters didn't vote for Charles Woodson. They voted for "Anyone But Manning." They'd heard story after story about him. And they were sick of him.

How else can you explain the fact that Champ Bailey put up better offensive, defensive and special teams numbers than Woodson one year later, but got zero Heisman hype? The '97 vote wasn't pro-Woodson, it was anti-Manning.

Tearing people down is an American pastime. The higher your pedestal, and the more we have to hear about you, the more we're going to enjoy watching you fall.

Thus the joy felt by so many when Manning lost to Florida or loses any "big" game in the playoffs. (I guess those playoff games he DID win weren't "big.")

"Sure, he set another record, but let's see how he does in the playoffs." That's the haymaker of the anti-Manning crowd. And so far, Manning and his Colts haven't been able to land a counterpunch.

"Some folks are born silver spoon in hand." - Creedence Clearwater Revival

Manning is The Chosen One. Championship rings are his birthright. The spotlight was his night-light.

And the masses couldn't stand it. The shots of Archie at every game. The interviews with Olivia. The "Sports Illustrated" cover story featuring father and son.

"Yechhh," America moaned. They moaned even louder when Peyton's little brother joined the league.

When Eli told the Chargers that he refused to play for them, many folks took it as further proof that the Manning boys were simply spoiled babies. Just another reason to dislike Peyton, even though Peyton had nothing to do with Eli's situation.

"Give me money. That's what I want. Whole lotta money." -- Barrett Strong

Everyone knows that Manning didn't give the Colts a hometown discount during contract negotiations in 2004. In fact, his contract is the biggest in the NFL and extremely unfriendly when it comes to the salary cap and keeping his teammates around.

Manning is set to make about $75 millionover the next five years. He'll also take up about 18 percent of his team's salary allotment over the last three years of the deal (which will surely be re-worked before that happens).

Now we're getting into areas where Manning has brought some negative attention to himself. If a player is going to ask for the highest contract in the game, he can expect fans to demand from him the highest performance in the game. That means Super Bowls.

"It's got me shouting, pointing." -- Mott the Hoople

Ah, the gestures. The yelling at teammates. The "I can't believe that just happened" headshake. The endless pointing before every snap. Running the punt team off ... after Colts coaches had run the punt team onto the field.

These aren't the actions of the average NFL quarterback. And that's why so many folks can't stand them. Or the man making them.

(As a fan of another AFC team, I must admit that whether you like Manning or not, there's nothing quite so satisfying as seeing his frustrated headshake following an interception thrown to your team.)

"It's not fair. It's not fair." -- Gwen Stefani.

Most of the reasons listed above are not fair, of course. Many of them are simply perceptions, rather than reality.

To undo them, Manning and his Colts are going to have win a Super Bowl. Nothing else will do. And that's easier said than done.

As a team, the Colts rely on Manning and the passing game entirely too much. Their defense has never been the key reason for a playoff win. Ditto Edgerrin James and their rushing attack. Nope, in the end, the Colts go only as far as Manning's arm takes them.

Which leaves the Colts a wee bit soft when January rolls around. (Notice I said the Colts, not Manning.)

The Dolphins had the same problem with Dan Marino and never overcame it. John Elway only exorcised his demons when the Broncos found a ground game that could carry them on days when his passing game couldn't.

For now, the Colts are much more Dolphinian than Bronconian. So when push comes to shove, the Colts get pushed, and then they get shoved.

And Manning, fair or not, is left to shoulder all the blame.