Watch the Moment Peyton Manning Gets Surprise Hall of Fame News
Receiving news of his hall of fame induction was a very special moment for Peyton Manning, and we got a behind-the-scenes look to watch it happen.
The day before the Super Bowl, the 2021 Pro Football Hall of Fame induction class was publicly announced. Aside from letting the individual players know about their induction, the NFL had tried to keep the reveal a secret during the two weeks before the big game so the general public would not know who was getting in this year and who was not.
Peyton Manning provided so many amazing moments for the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos during his NFL career, so the Hall of Fame wanted to create a very special moment for him when they delivered the news. The Broncos media-team posted the video above to give us a behind-the-scenes look at the moment Manning learned he was going into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The set up involved Manning being at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver to do a promotional spot for ESPN. While recording the spot, Manning was surprised when former coaches, including Tony Dungy and Gary Kubiak, walked on to the field. At that point, Peyton knew something was up but didn't know exactly what.
Finally, Pro Football Hall of Fame President David Baker walked up to Manning to deliver the news he was being inducted into the hall of fame. I don't know if it was an emotional moment for Peyton, but as a fan, it was an emotional moment for me. Manning has always been a class act, a great quarterback, and most deserving of the honor.
Following the reveal, a video played on the big stadium scoreboard featuring congratulatory messages from former coaches Jim Mora and John Fox.
Of course, Peyton surely expected he was going to be in the 2021 Hall of Fame class in his first year of eligibility. That was the reasonable expectation of every NFL fan who ever watched him play the game. The news might not have been a surprise to Manning, but the timing of the delivery certainly was.
Congrats to Peyton for his induction into the Hall of Fame, and let me say a personal thank you to Peyton for coming to Denver and getting us a Super Bowl championship. We are going to remember that special year for a long, long time.