Texas football opens its SEC schedule this year in Knoxville to take on the Tennessee Volunteers on September 26. Unless there’s an injury, the Longhorns will be lead by junior quarterback Arch Manning. That puts Arch’s uncle Peyton Manning in a tough position.
The NFL Hall of Fame QB famously starred at Tennessee in the 1990s and is still the most famous former Volunteers football player to ever play in Knoxville. But if there is one thing the Mannings are known for it is family and supporting family.
So, who will Peyton root for in late September? His nephew or his alma mater? The former Super Bowl champion spoke about the dilemma at the Manning Passing Academy this week and says it is an easy decision.
“One of the kids was asking me earlier who I was gonna go for and I said, ‘Who do you think?’ Of course he said that he would go for his school over his relative and I went, ‘Well, you and I are different. You and I are wired differently.’
Nothing is more important than your family. Obviously, it’s gonna be a huge SEC game. My dad (Archie) dealt with it when I was in college and Tennessee played Ole Miss. I love my university and my alma mater. I pull for them unconditionally.
But nothing is more important to me than my family. And when you have a nephew playing, I pull very hard for him every single Saturday. So, that’s pretty much a no-brainer, that you’re pulling for your nephew to play well. Everyone knows where my loyalties lie on all other Saturdays. Its the University of Tennessee.” – Peyton Manning
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This article originally appeared on Longhorns Wire: Who will Peyton Manning root for when Texas plays Vols? ‘No brainer’
Reporting by Trey Luerssen, Longhorns Wire / Longhorns Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Trey Luerssen, Longhorns Wire | USA TODAY Network
