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Mannings wanting no Super Bowl loser
Thought of brothers facing for title no fun
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Reed Saxon/Associated Press
Eli, Archie and Peyton Manning, from left, smile together after taping a DirecTV commercial in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Thursday.
LOS ANGELES - Archie Manning admits it. He's getting greedy.
The patriarch of America's reigning first family of football wants sons Peyton and Eli to keep going back to the Super Bowl.
Just not at the same time.
The Manning family celebrated Peyton's first NFL championship when the Indianapolis Colts won the 2007 Super Bowl. Then came an encore when Eli guided the upstart New York Giants to this year's title. What's more, each was the game's MVP in this remarkable brother act.
"I'm being greedy here, but I'd love for each to go back to another Super Bowl and each win another Super Bowl or more," Archie said in an interview with The Associated Press. "But as a parent, not against each other. Obviously it would be a long shot, but if they ever played in the Super Bowl against each other, it wouldn't be fun.
"We couldn't celebrate that game because somebody's going to win it, great. But somebody's going to lose it, and that's tough. We couldn't celebrate over the loser."
The brothers have played one NFL game against each other, with the Colts beating the Giants 26-21 in a 2006 game in which Peyton and Eli had similar statistics. Looking back, Archie said he was glad it was a good game and both played well.
One lingering image from New York's 17-14 Super Bowl victory over the seemingly invincible New England Patriots was Peyton wildly cheering as his kid brother moved the ball downfield for the winning touchdown.
"I was kind of playing the game up there in the stands," said the 32-year-old Peyton, five years older than Eli. "It was impressive as a quarterback to see how he played that day, but the fact he was (my brother) made it even more special. I had the same feeling I had when we became champions, was just as happy for Eli when the last second ticked off."
Eli, who joined his father and brother in Los Angeles to do a commercial for DirecTV NFL Sunday Ticket, said he pulled for his brother the same way a year earlier when the Colts beat the Chicago Bears 29-17 for the title.
"He had been in the NFL for nine years, close a few times and never getting one. I was fired up for him, rooting hard for him, excited for him," Eli said. "He did the same with me this past season. He was screaming and really getting fired up on that final drive."
Archie, a former standout quarterback at Mississippi, spent more than a decade of with the perennially undermanned New Orleans Saints. He said his sons' Super Bowl victories mean more to him than if he had won one himself.
"You wish wonderful things for your children," the 59-year-old father said. "I never got close enough to playing in a Super Bowl to maybe have the regrets that some players do who came so close. We feel real blessed for those two boys to play football, but for them both to play in a Super Bowl, for both of them to win a Super Bowl, we truly feel blessed."
He and wife Olivia often are asked whether they're the proudest parents around.
"I'm one of them," Archie said with a smile. "Sometimes Olivia and I, when it's quieted down and we're sitting home, we look over at each other and say, 'Can you believe this?'
"Olivia and I didn't get married and say we hope we have boys so we can mold them to be pro football players. We didn't wish for boys or girls, and we have three wonderful children, three boys that have given us a lot of joy. But it wasn't part of the plan to play football. We just tried to raise kids."
He and Olivia attend a few games each season, but mostly watch Peyton and Eli on TV. Archie, who joined DirecTV as a spokesman in 1998, said he's got his son-watching system down to a science, even when they're playing at the same time.
"I know how to split the screen and get them both," he said with a hint of pride in his technical prowess. "And what really drives my wife crazy is when I've got both games on the split screen and I bring my radio in and listen to the Saints at the same time. She doesn't care for that."
Peyton said he and Eli, although both quite young when their dad retired from football, have learned a lot about him as a player.
"He was a tremendous competitor, always kept himself in great shape, took a lot of pride in working out and keeping himself injury-free to be there on Sunday," Peyton said. "Naturally it had an impact on Eli and me, as far as working out in the offseason and keeping in good shape and being accountable to your teammates."
Then there were the bruising brother-on-brother basketball matchups in the backyard. First, with the eldest of the three, Cooper, teaching Peyton some hard-earned lessons, then eventually, Peyton doing the same to Eli. Cooper, a promising wide receiver who had to give up football at Ole Miss because of an injury, is two years older than Peyton.
"Dad was a little worried one of us would get hurt," Eli recalled. "And after a while he took the backboards down because he didn't want us playing anymore."
The family is scattered now, with the brothers living in the cities where they play and Archie in New Orleans.
"We are very close. We try to make time for each other, whether it's coming to New Orleans for a weekend or whatever," Eli said. "Cooper's is kind of the house where you hang out now. He's got the three kids, our niece and nephews, so we'll go over there and hang out with his kids and have fun."
Archie and Olivia finally have a girl in the family, Cooper's 5-year-old daughter, May.
"Poor mom's been to more football, basketball and baseball games than any woman deserves to go to," Eli said. "So she's been excited to have a little girl to spoil, go shopping, go to lunch."
As for extending the family tradition, Eli joked that grandsons Arch, 4, and Heid, 2, already are getting recruiting letters.
For now, the Mannings have another few months to enjoy their Super Bowl successes. Then, Peyton said, it will be business as usual.
"Two years in a row within our family certainly has been special, but it's nothing we take for granted," he said. "It's been humbling in a lot of ways, to have been a part of the whole process. We'll see, maybe we can try to keep it within the family, but both Eli and I both know it's very much 'What have you done for me lately?" '
© 2008, The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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Posted by bamacheats on May 10, 2008 at 12:06 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Eli says his sons 4 yrs. old and 2 yrs. old are already getting recruiting letters...They must play basketball instead of football and got letters from bug-eyed Billy G.
Posted by FWBVol on May 10, 2008 at 1:05 a.m. (Suggest removal)
eloser, what did Peyton ever do to you? He's well-educated having one been one of the top scholar/athletes to ever play at Tennessee. He's also a Southern boy so he has a bit of an accent. I'm glad to hear a nice Southern accent. I hate listening to Dick Enberg, Marv Albert or some talking head on a national news show. They all sound like their from the same place.
If you don't like hill billies and rednecks, you're pulling for the wrong school, in the wrong state and in the wrong conference.
Best of luck in 2008 Peyton. And if you can't win the Super Bowl, I'll be pulling for Eli.
Posted by TommyJack on May 10, 2008 at 1:10 a.m. (Suggest removal)
evolution: Seriously, dude. You need an intervention, complete with a rubber room...no belts or sharp objects.Just hang on another few hours man. It's always darkest before the dawn.
Posted by mparker on May 10, 2008 at 1:34 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I wonder if Tony Dungy will ever get the credit he deserves for 2007. It was like a chess game.
He convinced Peyton to be satisfied with ball control, aided by Peyton's great arm. He also had the D play 'safe' until playoff time, at which point they had energy enough to step up their game and dominate.
Well, anyway, I hope the Mannings do get another ring or so each. Peyton deserves to be up there with Elway, Montana, and, yes, Tom Brady as all-time great QB's. Eli want be at that level, but he's still a pretty darn good qb. He has survived in NY, which is never easy.
Posted by tngeoff on May 10, 2008 at 3:11 a.m. (Suggest removal)
TommyJack.
Agreed. evolution sounds foolish when he makes those kinds of statements. The Mannings are an incredible family and we are lucky to have had Peyton as a great part of Tennessee football history.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=QK4auTnXueg
evolution...your barometer for "respect" is something that is beyond the norm. If you don't respect yourself, then there's no reasonable expectation that you could respect anyone else and you obviously don't.
Posted by hcjournals on May 10, 2008 at 5:42 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Peyton, Eli, Archie and the whole Manning family exude what is it to be a nice family. Being nice and being honest are two of the most underrated traits we can possess. It takes a lot more strength to be a nice person than the alternative. And it is worth it in every respect....
Posted by pdhuff on May 10, 2008 at 7:48 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Peyton was the man, Tee wore the ring. Both are missed.
Posted by GerryOP on May 10, 2008 at 8:22 a.m. (Suggest removal)
What a delightful family. Our University should consider itself fortunate to have shared some time with this family.
Posted by volfan on May 10, 2008 at 8:34 a.m. (Suggest removal)
What hcjournals and GerryOP said!
I also applaud the Manning family.
Posted by vol4good on May 10, 2008 at 8:37 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Bamacheats, Eli doesnt have any children. He was talking about Coopers two sons. Fulmer has stated that he plans to visit thier first pee wee game with papers in hand.
Posted by Need_2_Know on May 10, 2008 at 8:50 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I remember watching Archie (Who!)all those years he struggled with the S-Ain'ts. He was as Peyton describes him, a good athlete who never took a day off. It's obvious that Arch and Olivia worked hard to ensure that their legacy was a family with honor, character, dignity, and charisma. They would be the first to admit they aren't perfect, either individually or as a family, but who is?
I was very pleased when UT got Peyton to commit, and haven't been dissappointed with him a day since. My thanks to Peyton and his family for the class they bring to thier world.
Who are the parents of the grandkids?
Posted by pjhaddix on May 10, 2008 at 11:11 a.m. (Suggest removal)
If I'm not mistaken, Cooper didn't stop playing because of an injury, but it was discovered that he had some sort of bone disease/disorder or something that would make playing dangerous for him. Peyton has said that he was playing for Cooper, and that it didn't seem fair that he got to play and not his brother. This was in a great and moving article in Sports Illustrated about Peyton and Archie back when Peyton was at UT. (Sorry I'm not more specific, but it's been a long time since I read it. Maybe some of you know more.)
Need_2_know...the above article says that Cooper and his wife have 3 kids...thus the parents of the grandkids.:-) pj
Posted by wewhite on May 10, 2008 at 11:42 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Yeah, Need_2_Know, Archie was just one of those great players that just happened to play for a bad team. Of course, back then, there was such a thing as team (city) loyalty; these days, it's jump ship at the first hint of a losing season. It must be something to be adored by five different cities (Oxford, Nawlens, Knoxville, Indianapolis, and NYC--well, most of it anyway: there'll always be a few die-hard Jets fans).
Archie always had a terrific head for the game and an uncanny ability to evaluate the totality of what was going on on the field, a trait his sons have certainly acquired. Peyton and Eli, as I understand, are also voracious film-watchers and prepare for each game like it was a battle campaign, like their dad. (Different thing to watch digital HD video with all the bells and whistles these days as opposed to the 35 or even 8 mm optical film and projector that Archie had.)
Peyton and Eli still insist that Cooper would've been the best QB in the Manning family if he had been able to continue playing.
Posted by Ashley on May 10, 2008 at 12:46 p.m. (Suggest removal)
114 days till Football Time In Tennessee!!!!
Posted by TommyJack on May 10, 2008 at 1:23 p.m. (Suggest removal)
wewhite: Not to nitpick, but I believe Cooper was a receiver.
Posted by gavol2572 on May 10, 2008 at 3:08 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I hate the fact that Tom Brady broke Peyton's record especially since Peyton had to put those numbers up due to the lack of defense on the Colts. Brady was putting his numbers up by running up the score and being a classless jerk like his coach. Who knows maybe Peyton will win 5 more superbowls (wishful thinking I know)
Posted by pjhaddix on May 10, 2008 at 7:14 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Yes, Cooper was a receiver, not QB, but a great athlete.
And eVOLution, "hate" is an awfully strong word to use for someone who happens to not play for your team. I'd encourage you to dip into your vocabulary and come up with a word that's not so angry and distructive. This guy you hate has donated so much money to the children's hospital in Indianapolis, they decided to name it after him. Reconsider. pj
Posted by tngeoff on May 11, 2008 at 5:36 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Do my eyes decieve me? Is that the recreation of the most missed poster of all times? TouchdownTennessee (The old TouchdownTN)? Welcome back! Your valuable insights have been missed. Let'er rip!
Posted by FishTacos on May 12, 2008 at 4:01 p.m. (Suggest removal)
eVOLution.
In no particular order Go Colts, Giants, and Titans. You can still be a loyal Titan fan and pull for Manning's I have been doing it for years. Plus the Titans cannot compete in the AFC South regardless, they are getting worse with that bonehead GM and his AWFUL DRAFT PICKS that they keep making.
Posted by ALLVOLGBO on May 12, 2008 at 7:09 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I love Peyton! He has class! I never was a huge pro football fan until Peyton went pro.. now I just can't wait to watch him play!
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