Former New Orleans Saints hero Archie Manning had no dilemma deciding who to back when his old team meets the Indianapolis Colts in the Super Bowl on Feb 7.
“I’m going to pull for my son,” Manning told reporters outside the noisy Indianapolis locker room after quarterback Peyton Manning led the Colts to a 30-17 victory over the New York Jets on Sunday.
“Anybody who thinks it’s different must not have children,” added Manning, who led the Saints for 10 years and still lives in New Orleans.
The Saints picked Manning second overall in the 1971 draft, and he played with them until 1982.
He threw 115 touchdown passes and 156 interceptions with New Orleans, and appeared in the Pro Bowl all-star game in 1978 and ’79.
The elder Manning had two sons — Giants quarterback Eli and brother Cooper — with him to cheer on Peyton and the Colts in the AFC championship game.
Indy’s win gave older brother Peyton the chance to go one-up on Eli by snagging a second Super Bowl ring. He won his first in 2007, when the Colts beat the Chicago Bears.
The Super Bowl became a matchup of top-seeded teams for the first time since 1993 when the Saints beat the Minnesota Vikings in overtime, 31-28, to reach their first NFL championship game.
