Perhaps no one arrived at the 2024 Paris Olympics more prepared than Peyton Manning.
During the 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremony, Manning wore an oversized wristband while sitting on the set with fellow NBC hosts Mike Tirico and Kelly Clarkson. The accessory looked identical to those worn by quarterbacks that detail potential plays.
Manning, an 18-year NFL veteran who won two Super Bowls, told Tirico and Clarkson he had notes on each athlete available on the play sheet.
‘Hey, buddy. What’s going on there?’ Clarkson asked.
‘Oh, this is just my wristband,’ Manning said. ‘I have notes on all 200 countries, all 10,000 athletes.’
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Quipped Tirico at the end of the segment, ‘That’s just Peyton Manning being Peyton Manning.’
Manning, who joined NBC’s coverage of the ceremony that saw each country and its athletes on parade, also cracked a Spygate joke when discussing the drone controversy involving the Canadian Olympic soccer teams that led to the dismissal of women’s coach Bev Priestman.
‘A little Spygate in soccer in the Olympics,’ Manning said, referencing the illegal filming tactics by the New England Patriots.
Manning has always been known to lighten the mood during his TV appearances, including his ‘ManningCast’ duties during the regular season and other cameos made by him and his brother and fellow NFL quarterback Eli Manning.
