Diehard Bears fan lives up to bet, files to change name to Peyton Manning
By TONY REID - H&R Staff Writer

DECATUR - Scott Wiese kept a rendezvous with destiny Tuesday as he scored an official touchdown on is way to becoming Peyton Manning.Wiese braved the snow to show up at the Macon County Courts Facility and file the paperwork to change his name to that of the star quarterback of the Indianapolis Colts. Wiese, a die-hard Chicago Bears fan who lives in Forsyth, had pledged to his friends that if his beloved team did not win Super Bowl XLI on Sunday, he would legally change his name to the man who led the Indiana nemesis to victory."A bunch of friends and I were talking one night before the game, and there was a little alcohol involved," said Wiese, 26. "I made the bet, and now I've got to keep it. I chose Manning because, well, he is kind of the face of the Colts franchise."For those who had earlier doubted his resolve to go through with it, Wiese had signed a solemn pledge in front of some 200 people Friday night in Katz Piano Bar in downtown Decatur. With Sunday's 29-17 score having declawed the Bears, Wiese duly presented himself at the courts facility to start the official name change process. He will have to advertise his intention in the Herald & Review for several weeks and then appear before a judge to explain why he can't go on being Scott Wiese.He's the first to admit he doesn't much resemble his soon-to-be namesake: The original version is 30 years old, stands 6-feet-5, weights 230 pounds and has a contract worth more than $126 million. Wiese is 5-feet-11, weighs 190 - "it's not muscle" -and works at Staples in Forsyth. But he says looks are not the issue here. Wiese said he so loves his team and his fellow fans that he is willing to lay down his identity as a kind of spiritual statement to wash clean the original sin of failure."I think I kind of represent all Bears fans," he said. "Not that I'm saying they're all idiots like me, but I represent their passion because I really care about my team, you know?"His lawyer and friend, Andy Bourey, is handling the paperwork and can't help but admire Wiese's sense of honor. "I never doubted him," he said. "He's a man of his word."And he's no stranger to doing the right thing. He was in his senior year of college - a sports management major - when he quit school to get a job and help the family's finances out after his father, Steve Wiese, suffered a heart attack.Tom Waters, an assistant manager at Staples, said he admires his employee's character and says he is an "outstanding guy."Waters only wishes the Bears shared that kind of fortitude: "If they had shown commitment like that, the score would probably have been a little different," he said.Wiese, who plans to go back to school when his dad is fully recovered, has no idea how long he will stay Peyton Manning.Asked if he would wait until the Bears win the Super Bowl, he flinched at that degree of sacrifice. "I mean, well, it may be another 21 years," he said.

Tony Reid can be reached at treid@herald-review.com or 421-7977.