Peyton Manning opens up on Hall of Fame Induction, future opportunities around football
NEW ORLEANS (WISH) — The stage is set for one of the most anticipated Pro Football Hall of Fame speeches in recent memory.
Five-time MVP and two-time Super Bowl champion Peyton Manning joins the all-time greats on Aug. 8 in Canton, Ohio.
From New Orleans to Knoxville, Tennessee, to Indianapolis to Denver, Manning’s Gold Jacket will radiate pride for each stop on his football journey.
Here are a few key takeaways from Manning’s Pro Football Hall of Fame media availability on Wednesday.
Manning on preparing for his induction speech
“I have been to the ceremony three times now for Bill Polian, Tony Dungy, Marvin Harrison, Pat Bolan, Champ Bailey, so I have been to it. It’s obviously a great point of emphasis this year on the length of the speeches, and I hear there has been a great point of emphasis in years past. I don’t think it has been stressed very well, so they are saying there is a blinking light at 6 minutes, maybe a little bell going off at 7 minutes, and then at 8 minutes, they say that someone is going to come up and lead the applause to end the speech. I look forward to seeing when they come up to lead the applause while Alan Faneca is still speaking and good luck getting him off the stage. Anybody that is an offensive lineman is probably tough to pull. It is a limited amount of time, 6-8 minutes, and the other inductees and I have texted each other about everyone trying to honor that and be respectful of the person behind you. I’m right there at 7 minutes and 50 seconds as we speak. Unfortunately, it just is not enough time to thank everybody. The good thing is that for the past 5 years, either on a handwritten note or a phone call, I have gotten the chance to thank people personally. Even though I won’t get to repeat them all in the speech, the thank yous are as heartfelt now as they were then. So I will be on time and hopefully be able to share how appreciative I am of the honor and how thankful I am for all the different people that have been part of my football journey.”
Manning on why he picked his dad as his presenter
“He never was my coach by any means, but he certainly had the greatest impact on my football life over anybody. Growing up around the game, I was eight years old when he retired, and he would bring Cooper and me to Saturday morning practices, and we got to go down there on the football field of the Superdome after games, so I definitely grew up around football. My dad was always making a point to include us. Letting us come to practice, taking us to Hawaii for the Pro Bowl, was always important to him, and I had no idea I was going to end up having the same career, but it definitely had the same impact and when I started getting serious about playing high school football. I meant what I said; I had to ask him to come to help us but when I asked him he was glad to do it. And he would come over and help organize workouts over at the high school with me and my wide receivers. My dad always took a lot of credit. During my high school career and Cooper’s high school career, my dad felt like he mentored five All-State receivers at Newman school. And he took pride in that because great receivers were what a quarterback wanted. Like I said, he was never my coach but was always my mentor, and so I can only think about two or three games that he has missed since high school and college and in the NFL and obviously, he couldn’t go to all the road games, but he watched every one of them, and he bit his fingernails the entire time. He wasn’t exactly the calm fan, according to my mom. Your words are exactly right. Just a no-brainer as far as picking him to present me and just couldn’t have a more appropriate person to do that.”
Manning on whether he is interested in taking a position with the Broncos organization
“Being a part of the game is important to me. I have kind of found different ways to be involved with it. Doing these things for ESPN, The Peyton’s Places, the history of the game, that stuff has been a blast. Getting to watch film with Joe Namath, with Raymond Barry, I mean, that’s a dream come true for a football junkie like me. I will always be a part of the Colts and the Broncos organizations in some way, but obviously, I’m interested in what is going to happen (with the Broncos ownership situation). I have not said no to anything in any way, forever. I have just said no to certain things each year, and maybe in the next year, things change, so who knows what will happen with that, but it will be a part of my life forever, in my opinion.”