Image Credit: Dana Edelson/NBC
Don’t expect to see a Football Cops sketch on Saturday Night Live this weekend. While New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning (pictured, with SNL cast member Kenan Thompson) is hosting the show, his brother Peyton won’t be making a cameo.
Then again, Eli might prefer being the only Manning onscreen. During a conference call this afternoon, the athlete revealed to reporters that he was first approached about hosting SNL right after leading the Giants to Super Bowl victory in 2008. But Manning turned down that initial offer: “Peyton had done it so well the previous year,” he explained. “I kind of wanted to keep working on my football, and I hadn’t really proven myself as well as I wanted to.”
After clinching a second NFL championship, Manning changed his tune. Now the good-natured football star is ready to show the world what he can do on live TV — and SNL czar Lorne Michaels is confident that Eli is up to that challenge. “I think he’s both charming and radiates a certain kind of intelligence,” Michaels said during the call. “You sort of believe that he doesn’t take himself that seriously.” And being able to engage in self-parody is crucial for any SNL host — especially one who’s not a performer by trade.
According to Michaels, though, athletes are better suited for the rigors of Saturday Night Live than a layperson might suspect. READ FULL STORY »
