NFL legend Peyton Manning is at Neyland Stadium this Saturday to watch his nephew, Texas quarterback Arch Manning, face off against his alma mater, Tennessee, in a pivotal SEC showdown.
Before he became one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history, Peyton Manning was picking apart SEC defenses at Tennessee. He finished his time in Knoxville with 11,201 passing yards and 89 touchdowns, cementing his status as one of the greatest prospects of all time.
Despite his love for Tennessee, Manning revealed that he’ll be cheering for his nephew this Saturday.
“One of the kids was asking me earlier who I was gonna go for,” Manning said, via USA Today. “And I said, ‘What do you think?’ And of course he said that he would go for his school over his relative. And I went, ‘Well, you and I are different. You and I are wired differently.’ Nothing’s more important than your family.”
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Manning made it clear he’ll continue to support his Volunteers every remaining weekend of the season.
“But obviously it’s gonna be a huge SEC game. My dad (Archie) dealt with it when I was in college when Tennessee played Ole Miss. I love my university, my alma mater. Pull for them unconditionally. But nothing’s more important than my family. And when you have a nephew playing. I pull very hard for him every single Saturday. So that’s pretty much a no-brainer, pulling for your nephew to play well. But like I said, everybody knows pretty strongly where my loyalties lie on all other Saturdays: the University of Tennessee.”
Can’t blame Peyton for supporting his family.
While Tennessee fans would love to see Manning represent their team every weekend, they respect his decision this Saturday.
“Peyton had given millions of dollars to UT and has been a proud ambassador of the University for 30 years. His love for the University cannot be questioned,” one fan said.
“The right answer. Blood thicker than water,” a second fan wrote.
“God, Family, Football. Peyton knows,” another fan commented. “Gonna be one incredible Saturday on Rocky Top!”
We can’t wait to see how Arch performs in a hostile environment this Saturday, that’s for sure.
