We live in the alternate universe.

Here in New England, we love the Patriots. We think Tom Brady is a grid god. We have “In Bill We Trust’’ stamped on our currency. We think the Patriots are the ultimate sports dynasty of the 21st century. Any time the Patriots lose a playoff game, it’s a stunning upset, perhaps worthy of investigation.

The rest of the country hates the Patriots. They think Brady, Belichick, and the Patriots are ball-deflatin’, cellphone-breakin’, spy video-takin’, Wells-Report-In-Context-fakin’, phony-image-makin’, soul-takin’ cheaters.

We live in the same photo-negative Bizarro World when it comes to Peyton Manning. Across the land, Manning is largely worshipped. He’s considered perhaps the greatest quarterback of all time, nationally admired on a par with Derek Jeter.

Not here. New England is the place where Peyton Manning is all about Hatin’ Manning. This is where Bashing Peyton makes for a popular parlor game or sports talk show, 24/7.

Manning officially retired Monday afternoon. It was an American Football Holiday of sorts. Manning was the headline atop the sports section of every newspaper in the country. The back page of the vaunted New York Post screamed “The Best Is History!’’ ESPN shifted into all-Peyton programming and several of the network’s reporters and analysts reportedly had to be hosed down after Manning’s tear-filled 1 p.m. press conference was beamed to living rooms and sports bars across the land.

It was different here in New England. Radio shows, sports television panels, and social media messages were dedicated to speculation regarding Manning’s possible use of HGH, his 20-year-old “incident’’ in a trainer’s room when he was at the University of Tennessee, his bullying dad, and his under­performance in postseason play.

This is because, you know, Peyton will never be as good as Our Tom Brady.

Sign me up for the Brady-Over-Peyton Club. If I had to choose one of those two for a single game, a single season, or one decade of excellence, I would go with New England’s QB 12. Though Manning has assembled more personal stats, Brady has simply been better in the clutch.

Manning retired with the most touchdown passes, passing yards, victories, and comeback victories. He won five MVPs and is the only quarterback to win a Super Bowl with two teams. But in the end, it goes back to the old Chamberlain-Russell argument. Wilt had the monstrous numbers (50 points per game for a full season?), but Russell had the 11 championships in 13 seasons. We take Russell every time. Just like we take Brady.

So why is Manning sometimes cast as a devil-in-shoulder-pads around here? Is it simply the Original Sin of Not Being Tom? Or is it more?

Part of the cause is rooted in good old-fashioned rivalry/competition. Red Sox-Yankees stuff. With the Colts, and later the Broncos, Manning always seemed to be the man standing between the Patriots and an appearance in the Super Bowl.

Belichick and Brady dominated Manning in the early years of the riv­alry, and overall Brady was 11-6 vs. Manning.

In Manning’s blubbery farewell speech, he said, “I’ll even miss the Patriots fans in Foxborough, and they should miss me, because they sure did get a lot of wins off me.’’

Things changed starting with the 2006 AFC Championship game. That’s when the Patriots led Manning’s Colts, 21-3, in the first half, but lost, 38-34. That’s when the Patriots first lost a big game to a Manning.

It got worse for the Patriots vs. Manning after that. We can tease Manning for nine one-and-dones in the playoffs, but he beat the Patriots in his last three AFC Championship matchups vs. New England. Even worse, his brother beat Brady and the Patriots in two stunning Super Bowls. This no doubt accounts for some Hatin’ Manning. The Manning Brothers went 5-0 vs. Belichick and Brady in five champ­ionship games since 2006 (three AFC Championships, two Super Bowls).

Ouch.

There’s another dimension. A lot of folks around here don’t like Manning because they think that, in comparison with Brady, Manning gets a free ride from fans and national media. Think about it: Brady gets a suspension for a petty violation. He is subjected to questions about cheating. He receives headline ridicule. He gets booed when he is announced with other Super Bowl MVPs in Santa Clara.

Manning? He gets the big wet kiss from the folks at all the football networks. Rarely is heard a discouraging word. Anti-Manning reports are dismissed as junk. Rarely does anyone mention HGH or the lawsuit that was settled after Manning was inappropriate with (or possibly sexually assaulted) a female trainer during his college days.

It’s all over now. No more Peyton Manning at quarterback. No more Manning-Brady matchups. The 18-12 Overture is silenced.

Tom Brady stands alone.

That’s the way it’s always been here in New England.

Dan Shaughnessy can be reached at dshaughnessy@globe.com.