Before Peyton Manning turned his awkwardness into comedy on the ManningCast and in countless commercials, the former NFL quarterback famously introduced his comedic side to the public as a host on NBC’s Saturday Night Live.
Manning hosted SNL in 2007 after winning Super Bowl XLI with the Indianapolis Colts. While several skits throughout the episode stand the test of time, the most memorable one is when he becomes a volunteer for a youth group, firing footballs at full speed at children while yelling insults to “motivate them.”
When SNL’s anniversary special kicked off Sunday evening, Manning was featured in a Q&A hosted by Amy Poehler and Tina Fey. The QB was in the audience, where he jokingly advised longtime Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels to “never retire,” as his own retirement from the NFL led to him doing a bunch of “brutal commercials.”
“Is Lorne (Michaels) going to retire now?” asked Manning.
“No, I don’t think so,” replied Poehler.
“Okay, that’s great news,” added Manning. “Lorne, never retire. It is brutal out here. They have me doing all these commercials. Insurance, beer… I did one the other day for something called Fan Fight Power Monster 3. I don’t even know what the hell it is. I just assumed it was a video game. But then in the last voice over I said, ‘Now in diet chili flavor.’ I hate being retired. No, seriously, Lorne, getting old sucks. You feel like such a loser. (Zach) Galifianakis knows what I’m talking about.”
Manning still has the comedic chops he showed off in 2007. So perhaps sometime down the road, he will become just the third former athlete to repeat as host of SNL, joining Charles Barkley and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
Manning also had a chance to reflect on his episode of SNL, giving credit to the “all-star cast” he had as a host.
“For a football player to be able to take their helmet off and show that they can laugh, they are not afraid to make fun of themselves, they don’t take themselves too seriously…
“I was with an all-star cast that year…(Jason) Sudeikis, (Amy) Poulter, (Maya) Rudolph, (Kristen) Wiig. The list goes on and on. (Andy) Samberg. I laughed all week. And it was fascinating to go behind the ropes in someone else’s arena. You don’t get to do that in football. You don’t get to have a 12th person in the huddle to really see what it’s like. But I got to go behind the ropes, creating sketches, and the rehearsals. It’s a lot like a football game week. And it’s a live event which I can relate to.”