UT Hill Man
I ♥ Big Jugs
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- Jun 23, 2012
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Let me go ahead and get "cool story bro" out of the way 
Flashback to the last time we faced Northwestern in a bowl game:
In Dec, 1996, I was in a band with a gig playing a swank debutante party at the New Orleans Country Club. It was a few days before Christmas, and there were 300-400 New Orleans society folks there, including Archie and Olivia Manning, and their son Peyton.
Peyton towered over most of the guests, so it was easy to spot him in the crowd. The music was loud, and I watched a lot of people coming up to him and speaking in his ear. He would get this annoyed look on his face and make the slash motion with his hand across his throat, as if to say 'cut it out, I'm not talking about that'.
This was the end of his junior year, and it became apparent to me that everyone was asking him if he was
planning to declare for the NFL draft.
When we took a break Peyton was still on the dance floor so I stepped down to say hello. He was as nice as could be. I asked him how bowl preparation was going for the game against Northwestern, and he spoke eagerly about how hard everyone had been practicing and what great focus the team had.
He also said the young players, the freshmen and sophomores, were learning a lot and getting better from all the extra reps. About two weeks later we routed Northwestern on New Years Day.
After that, Peyton announced he was returning for his senior year. And two years later we won a National Title.
I have always thought of Peyton as the guy who showed everyone the way. He didn't make it to the promised land with the 98 team, but he led the program for 4 years and helped make a championship possible.
Flashback to the last time we faced Northwestern in a bowl game:
In Dec, 1996, I was in a band with a gig playing a swank debutante party at the New Orleans Country Club. It was a few days before Christmas, and there were 300-400 New Orleans society folks there, including Archie and Olivia Manning, and their son Peyton.
Peyton towered over most of the guests, so it was easy to spot him in the crowd. The music was loud, and I watched a lot of people coming up to him and speaking in his ear. He would get this annoyed look on his face and make the slash motion with his hand across his throat, as if to say 'cut it out, I'm not talking about that'.
This was the end of his junior year, and it became apparent to me that everyone was asking him if he was
planning to declare for the NFL draft.
When we took a break Peyton was still on the dance floor so I stepped down to say hello. He was as nice as could be. I asked him how bowl preparation was going for the game against Northwestern, and he spoke eagerly about how hard everyone had been practicing and what great focus the team had.
He also said the young players, the freshmen and sophomores, were learning a lot and getting better from all the extra reps. About two weeks later we routed Northwestern on New Years Day.
After that, Peyton announced he was returning for his senior year. And two years later we won a National Title.
I have always thought of Peyton as the guy who showed everyone the way. He didn't make it to the promised land with the 98 team, but he led the program for 4 years and helped make a championship possible.
