Former Colts and Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning isn’t concerned with news about Tom Brady’s potential retirement or last weekend’s divisional-round action.
At least, that’s what he led viewers to believe during a “Weekend Update” skit on Saturday’s episode of “Saturday Night Live.” Manning dismissed Brady and the NFL playoffs in favor of reviewing the second season of Netflix series “Emily in Paris.”
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The skit started with co-anchor Colin Jost introducing Manning and giving his credentials — two-time Super Bowl winner and Pro Football Hall of Famer — and asked him what he thought of the divisional-round games. Each one ended with a walk-off play, combining to create one of the best weeks of playoff football in NFL history.
“I heard they were incredible,” Manning said, prompting Jost to ask, “You heard?”
“Yeah, sounds like all the teams did a great job,” Manning said. “Lots of passing, and all the touchdowns were in the end zone.”
Manning explained that he had an hour to kill before the games started, and decided to use it to check out an episode of “Emily in Paris.” He then “watched the entire season straight through,” refusing to talk about anything else for the remainder of the skit.
“Oh my god, Colin. This show has everything: romance, adventure, sensuality, culture, a fresh take on feminism — finally — not to mention a culinary tapestry so rich, I could only describe it as ‘food porn.’”
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Even news of Brady’s potential retirement — Manning is considered his biggest rival — couldn’t deter Manning from talking about the Netflix series.
“Yeah, I’m not sure (retirement rumors are) true. I think it’s probably just speculation,” Manning said. “But if it were me, I probably would retire, too, if it gave me more time to watch ‘Emily in Paris,'” said Manning. “I really think for Tom right now, it’s just a tough decision between balancing his career and relationships, sort of like Emily.”
At that point, Jost could only ask in disbelief whether Manning had seriously blown off all the action and news out of the NFL to watch the Netflix series.
“Sure, watching football was the safe thing to do. That’s what everyone expected me to do,” Manning responded, “but if I’ve learned anything from Emily, it’s to follow my passions and always be true to myself.”
In all, it was another excellent comedic performance from Manning, whose United Way skit on “SNL” was also well received. That was apparent in Saturday’s episode when Manning donned a red beret while gushing over “Emily in Paris.” In the end, Jost could only say, “Wow, so you think Season 2 is even better than Season 1?”
“Wait, there’s a Season 1?” Manning asked. Below is the full skit.
Looks like we know how Manning is spending the rest of his weekend.