Peyton Manning is one of the world’s most recognizable and respected names in football, and on Sept. 5, he made the time to speak at the Little Rock Touchdown Club meeting. Manning had an 18-year career in the NFL, with four years spent with the Denver Broncos and 14 years spent with the Indianapolis Colts.
As the first quarterback to ever win the Super Bowl for more than one franchise, Manning has been known on and off the field for his helpful spirit and passion for football and family.
Manning sat down with David Bazzel from 103.7 The Buzz to talk about his life both in and out of football, and some Arkansans that he has connected with through all of his football and broadcast endeavors.
“It’s always great to be here in Little Rock. People have always been so nice and good to me here. It’s an honor to be back,” Manning said.
This trip is not Manning’s first in Little Rock, or in the state of Arkansas, as he has spoken for other events and played the Razorbacks at War Memorial during his time leading the Tennessee Vols – in case anyone was wondering, his record is 4-0 against Arkansas as he played from 1994-1997– and even has made the trip to Stuttgart in order to enjoy duck hunting, one of Manning’s favorite activities.
Manning crossed paths with several football greats, including Arkansas’-own Brandon Burlsworth, who was drafted to the NFL the year after Manning was the No.1 pick in 1997.
“I remember Bill Polian and our general manager telling me about this guard we drafted from Arkansas, who they thought would be a staple of our offensive line,” Manning said. “Bill Polian was one of those guys that wanted you to be there for 12 years if he drafted you. He wasn’t just looking for a couple of years out. Brandon was going to be a big part of our plans to build our O Line. He was a great guy with a great spirit, and he was an intense competitor. He was going to be a great player for us, and the loss of him was tragic.”
Walt Coleman, a retired NFL official reigning from Little Rock, was also in attendance and spoke about how Manning’s appreciation certainly did not go unnoticed by him. Coleman had a 30-year career in the NFL and refereed over 25,000 players.
“I was privileged to have the opportunity to referee Peyton’s games. As an official, we aren’t well thought of by too many folks, and not very well by players and coaches,” Coleman said. “When I retired from the NFL after the 2018 season, I received one congratulatory note from a former player. Only one, and that was from Peyton. We all know what kind of football player he was, but this tells you the type of person that he is.”
Photo by Dewaine Duncan.
In his post-football life, Manning still spends a lot of time watching and analyzing the game, with his own productions through Omaha Productions and his involvement in the Netflix docuseries, “Quarterback.”
While his involvement in these broadcasting projects is well-known to the public, a slightly less known fact is of his involvement as a guest lecturer in the University of Tennessee College of Communication and Information.
“I’m a guest lecturer a couple of times a year, and I actually taught my first class last week and really enjoyed it. I had one of my professors who’s still there in the College of Communication that teaches a class on public speaking, so he asked me some questions and it was about 45 minutes with all seniors, and I really enjoyed doing it,” Manning said.
As far as his full-time career through broadcasting, he is now in the business of creating content that is positive, uplighting and unifying, celebrating the hard work and community of football.
“We think that sports are a great way to bring people together. The Monday night show that Eli and I did last year, we will do it again. This idea was kind of born during the pandemic and Eli and I are excited to get to do this again,” Manning said. “We are kind of the B Team on ESPN2 and we have guests who love football as much as we do on the show. Last year, we had President Obama, Condoleezza Rice and Snoop Dogg on.”
Manning said the thing he misses most about playing is being on a team and existing within a team environment. Manning explained that there is simply nothing like being on the plane home after winning a game, and it is something he misses dearly.
However, Peyton said the feeling of working with the Omaha team and giving other people a platform to tell their stories has been incredible. He is most proud of being able to give people a platform to tell their stories, while also being able to follow in his father’s footsteps of being an involved-father and mentor to his children.
Listen to what Peyton Manning had to say after the meeting in the video below.
