Is Former Indianapolis Colts QB Peyton Manning in Line to be the Next Santa Claus?
Is Peyton Manning ready to "tackle" the responsibility of being Jolly Ol' St. Nick (pun totally intended, and I'm not sorry about it)?
Peyton has lived an incredible life, most notably on the football field. He finished his college career as the quarterback for the University of Tennessee with a 39-6 record and set 33 school records, seven Southeastern Conference (SEC) records, and two NCAA passing records which led him to be selected as the first overall pick in the 1998 NFL Draft by the Indianapolis Colts where he played for 14 seasons. After the Colts released him in 2012 due to uncertainty about how he would rebound from two neck surgeries to repair a herniated disc, a decision that I as a die-hard Colts fan still believe was the right decision to make at the time, he signed with the Denver Broncos where he played four more seasons. Considered by fans, experts, and those who play the game as one of the greatest players of all time at the QB position, he set NFL passing records, was selected to 14 Pro Bowls, appeared in four Super Bowls (41 and 44 with the Colts, and 48 and 50 with the Broncos), and two of them (41 and 50) during his 18-year career,
That's obviously a quick overview of what he accomplished, but thanks to him, the Indianapolis Colts went from being one of the bottom-feeders in the league to a consistent Super Bowl contender during his time. He single-handily made Indiana known for more than basketball and is considered the main reason the team can now call Lucas Oil Stadium home (they don't call it, "The House That Peyton Built" for nothing).
Peyton Manning - TV Star
Following his Super 41 win with the Colts, Peyton was in New York City a little over a month later to host Saturday Night Live where he showed off his acting skills and his sense of humor in sketches like this spoof a public service announcement for the United Way.
Of course, he's also starred in a number of commercials for a variety of companies, including Nationwide Insurance where literally sings the praises of a good chicken parmesan sandwich to the tune of the company's jingle.
Since his retirement, he's started his own media production company, Omaha Productions, which has produced, Peyton's Places and Eli's Places for ESPN, the latter of which is hosted by his brother, former New York Giants and two-time Super Bowl champion himself, Eli Manning; he's the host of College Bowl on NBC, a tournament-style trivia competition where teams of students from colleges around the country compete to win $1 million in scholarship money; and he continues to appear in commercials for a variety of different companies, including Cesar's Sportsbook where he stars alongside his brothers and dad.
Could Peyton Manning Become the Next Santa Claus?
On top of all that, he's a husband and a father to fraternal twins, son Marshall and daughter Mosley. Clearly, his plate is full. However, that's apparently not stopping him from trying to take on one of the toughest jobs ever — being Santa Claus.
Disney held their D23 Expo over the weekend and revealed a number of upcoming projects which included the debut of a teaser trailer for a new two-part limited series called, The Santa Clauses, which will see Tim Allen along with many of the stars of the original The Santa Clause films reprise their roles.
Here's the plot, according to IMDB.
Scott Calvin is about to turn 65 and, realizing he can't be Santa forever, sets out to find a suitable replacement Santa while preparing his family for a new adventure in life south of the pole.
Will Peyton be that "suitable replacement?" Based on the scene featured in the trailer below, it looks like he's not going to land the job on personality alone.
It's unclear if this will be Peyton's only appearance in the show, or if plays a larger role. My guess is the scene in the trailer is likely part of a montage where Tim Allen's Santa interviews a number of famous faces for the job. I guess we'll have to wait and see when The Santa Clauses debuts on Disney+ on November 16th.
[Source: Disney+ on YouTube]