![Peyton Manning]()
Peyton Manning won't ever pass up an opportunity to stick it to an old rival.
The longtime Indianapolis Colts quarterback, and brief, stiff-necked Denver Broncos QB, has been retired for almost a decade. Though Manning stepped away from playing football in 2016, he almost immediately leveraged his fame and draw into a media career - and a highly successful one at that.
I don't have time to get into all of the plates Peyton has spinning now (Netflix's
Receiver, Omaha Productions, The ManningCast on ESPN,
Peyton's Places), but I will focus on the one thing that the two-time Super Bowl winner has going on for him right now. Like if you turn on your TV, you'll probably see him.
Manning has partnered with NBC to help with coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympics. He joined the legendary Mike Tirico and Grammy-award-winner Kelly Clarkson to help cover the
long opening ceremony today, and social media wasn't really sure how to feel about Clarkson and Manning.
https://twitter.com/NBCOlympics/status/1816868121841447231?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1816868121841447231%7Ctwgr%5E85a6f8cddd88d3819486d8cd43e89e8cae548c8f%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.usatoday.com%2Fstory%2Fsports%2Folympics%2F2024%2F07%2F26%2Fpeyton-manning-kelly-clarkson-nbc-paris-olympics-opening-ceremony-nbc-reactions%2F74563674007%2F
However, the one place where Peyton Manning redeemed himself was the comedic relief he offered throughout the programming. At one point, the Pro Football Hall of Famer showed off a playbook wristband he was wearing to help him with the olympic coverage, and he later got in a shot at one of his old football foes - the New England Patriots.
Mike Tirico brought up one of the early scandals of the 2024 Olympic Games, which sent home some of the Canadian women's team's coaches:
"Canada has already made news. Their women’s soccer coach was sent home after controversy about a drone and checking in on practices for a team and that, dating back to other competitions before this Olympics. So, we haven’t even officially opened the Olympics and we’ve got controversy and news."
And Peyton Manning brilliantly used that opportunity to tie it into the "Spygate" scandal that rocked the NFL in 2007, when it was discovered that the New England Patriots were secretly filming other team's signs from undesignated areas while under the leadership of Bill Belichick (and being quarterbacked by Tom Brady).
Manning kept the jab short and sweet, and it was
perfect:
"A little Spygate in soccer here in the Olympics."
https://twitter.com/VidClipHero/status/1816917074318623039?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1816917074318623039%7Ctwgr%5E948b3f122abe90a2dfac86198ac8b5630294a93b%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fawfulannouncing.com%2Fnfl%2Fpeyton-manning-spygate-joke-paris-opening-ceremony.html
