Rubbing It in Certainly Is Not Manning’s Style

Remember Florida Coach Steve Spurrier’s chortling one-liner about Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning that made the rounds last off-season?:

“Why is Peyton Manning coming back for a fourth season?

“He wants to be the first quarterback to play in three straight Citrus Bowls.”

That one had them slapping knees in Gainesville for months--until the 1997-98 bowl pairings were finalized. This time around, Manning made it to the Big One--Friday’s Orange Bowl--while Spurrier’s Gators had to settle for leftovers in Thursday’s Citrus Bowl.

At Tuesday’s Orange Bowl media day in Miami, Manning was asked about getting the last laugh.

“I kind of put that to bed,” Manning replied with a shrug. “I did see some Florida players earlier this year and told them about all the good places to hang out in Orlando. But besides that, I kind of want to put that one to bed.”

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So, now that Manning finally made it to the Orange Bowl, what does he make of Miami?

“The Citrus Bowl is a great bowl, but getting to play Nebraska here--the atmosphere is different,” he said. “It’s energized around here. Practices are energized, knowing we have a shot at playing for a national championship. Even if we don’t, it’s still one of the biggest games we’ve had in a long time. You can just feel the energy around here.”

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On the downside, you get asked a lot of dumb questions at media day.

Dumbest of the day: “Peyton, roll with me on this one here a little bit if you can. We’re convinced your knee is filled with Flubber and you’re capable of doing amazing athletic and acrobatic things out there on the field.”

Manning, ever the good sport: “I don’t know about that. We’ll see. I hope it’ll be able to bounce back up after a hit, I guess.”