Sports Radio Interviews

Archie Manning Will be Rooting for Peyton’s Colts not the Saints

Imagine playing for a team for twelve years in the NFL, seeing the ups and downs of the franchise, having the team make it to the first ever Super Bowl in the history of the franchise and not being able to root for them to win. That’s the situation that former Saints quarterback Archie Manning finds himself in. On one hand, Manning may be the greatest Saints player of all time. He raised his children in the Big Easy and he has strong ties to the Saints franchise. On the other hand, his son Peyton will be playing against his former team for a chance to capture his second Super Bowl in his career. This is a no-brainer for Archie. As much as he meant to the Saints franchise and as much as he would like the city of New Orleans to capture a championship, a father will always root for his son and Archie will be rooting for Peyton in Super Bowl XLIV.

Archie Manning joined WWL in New Orleans following the Saints victory to talk about how he felt when New Orleans beat Minnesota, what his son, Peyton will be facing in the Super Bowl, and who he will be rooting for on February 7^th.

On how he is feeling now that the Saints will be heading to the Super Bowl:

“Well great. I’m up in Indianapolis and the Colts had a great win today. Tough win. Really good win. Been over here at Peyton’s condo been watching the Saints. What a thrilling game and a wonderful win for the Saints and New Orleans. We’re very excited.”

On how his son, Peyton feels after the win against the Jets:

“He’s very excited. The Colts are very excited. The Colts are kind of a unique team this year. No one is saying they’re a great team or one of the greatest teams of all time, but their starters have played 16 games this year and they’ve won all 16 games. I think counting today, eight of them they’ve had to come from behind late in the game to win so they’re kind of a resilient bunch. I don’t know if they’re a great bunch, but they’re a good football team. Indianapolis is very excited. Unlike New Orleans they’ve experienced this one time before. Tonight wasn’t as nearly as crazy as it was three years ago. I know they’re excited about going back to Miami but I think they realize they have to play a very good team in New Orleans.”

On how he was feeling when the Vikings were making a comeback:

“I thought all along that the Saints were gonna win this game. I was a little bit worried as the Vikings hung in there. I’ll tell ya, I was really concerned because I really thought the Saints would control this game. It scared me a little bit and if the Vikings didn’t turn it over, it coulda been doomsday because they really did turn it over in some crucial times. I thought when they got down there at the end, he would make the field goal, it would be a win for New Orleans. It’s great for this city, it’s great for this organization, Sean (Payton), Drew (Brees), all the players. They’ve worked hard, they deserve this and it’s a great time for a lot of people.”

On how tough the Super Bowl will be with Peyton playing against the Saints:

“Well, it’s kind of a tough deal. On one hand, I’ve lived in New Orleans and played there for not that long of a time, I guess twelve years but we’ve lived there a long time so I’ve been through this experience through a lot of lean days. I’ve watched the franchise grow in the last two years and you know they are doing things right. This has been a spectacular year and I have admired the work just like everyone else. On the other hand, I have a son playing here in Indianapolis and we support him. That’s where my allegiances got to be. I can pull for the Colts and for Peyton but at the same time I can still be very proud of all the Saints and everything that has been accomplished there.”

Listen to Archie Manning on WWL in New Orleans here

Tags: Drew Brees, Indianapolis Colts, Indianapolis Colts vs New Orleans Saints, New Orleans Saints, NFL Super Bowl XLIV, Peyton Manning, WWL