With the third of his four scores Sunday night, Peyton Manning moved to the top of the NFL’s all-time passing touchdowns list, eclipsing Brett Favre’s 508. Manning now sits on 510, and he’s got at least 10 games left this season. He may be 38, but he’s playing the best football of his already legendary career, so it’s not hard to fathom him topping 600.
But before we get too far ahead of ourselves, let’s just stop and honor our favorite football golfer. We could probably list 510 reasons why we love Peyton Manning, but for the sake of your Monday productivity, here are just 9:
His ability to throw a football
Obviously. Not only does Manning hold the record for the most career touchdown passes, he’s thrown the most TDs in one season (55), the most passing yards in a single season (5,477), and has won more NFL MVP awards than any other player (five).
ICYMI (somehow)…Peyton Manning threw TD pass #509 on Sunday. #Peyton509 http://t.co/Kl8ls9iUtd
— NFL (@nfl) October 20, 2014
His ability to hit a golf ball
Because being great at football wasn’t enough, he once carded a 77 at Augusta, a 72 at St. Andrews, and owns two career holes-in-one. And he put in a solid showing at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in February, just days after losing the Super Bowl.
He uses golf to test rookies
The Broncos take a team-bonding golf outing every spring, and Manning likes to get rookies in his foursome. That way he can be bossy and demanding, fix their swings and impart knowledge, all in an attempt to see what they’re made of mentally.
It’s OK for him to make fun of Tiger Woods
When Manning was with the Colts, he decided to use the world golf rankings to indicate snap counts. Woods was ranked No. 1, so “Tiger” called for the snap on one; Phil Mickelson was ranked No. 2, so “Phil” meant for the ball to be snapped on two. But early in 2013 when Manning and Woods met up for golf, Manning told Woods, “The hardest thing for me right now is that McIlroy is on ‘one’ and Tiger is on ‘two.’ It hit him in the gut pretty hard.”
His PeyBack Foundation
He set up a foundation soon after entering the NFL, and since 1999 the PeyBack Foundation has given more than $10 million to at-risk youth in Colorado, Indiana, Louisiana and Tennessee. And you may remember that he unintentionally raised nearly $25,000 for his foundation in January when some Omaha companies donated $800 for every time he yelled “Omaha!” during the AFC championship game.
He’s a jokester
One time, Manning gave teammate Eric Decker a fake $3,000 bill after they spent a few days working out at Duke. Another time, back when Manning was with the Colts and Wes Welker was with the Patriots, the QB unscrewed a water bottle lid before it was handed to Welker at the Pro Bowl. And then Sunday night, he sort of pranked himself when he apparently orchestrated a game of keep-away, where his receivers wouldn’t let him get his hands on the ball with which he set the record:
ICYMI: @Broncos play Keep Away with Peyton Manning’s record-breaking TD ball! #Peyton509 http://t.co/Isj7hejnNi
— NFL (@nfl) October 20, 2014
His dance moves
When he’s not schooling fools on the field or on the course, Manning is a pretty big dork. He’s goofy, he can’t dance, he knows it, and he doesn’t care:
His legendary “Saturday Night Live” performance
That last dance video was part of an epic night in which Manning hosted “Saturday Night Live.” The best segment was, of course, his famed “United Way” promotion:
His acting
And his SNL performance brings us to our final reason: his acting. Prior to the Super Bowl, we listed his 9 best commercials. Then just a couple months ago, Gatorade release a slew of new ads with Manning as a convenience store manager:
Related Links:
– McIlroy, Manning Take Picture Worth $51.4 Million
– Tom Brady, Peyton Manning Highlights from Pebble Beach
– Outtakes: Peyton Manning Clowns In BMW Championship Ad
– Peyton Manning Shot 72 At St. Andrews
– Peyton Manning’s Month: Hole-In-One At Castle Pines, 77 At Augusta
– 9 Best Peyton Manning Commercials
– Peyton Manning Playfully Ripped Tiger Woods Over No. 1 Ranking
