Peyton Manning reveals why iconic ‘SNL’ United Way skit almost never happened

If you remember nothing else from Peyton Manning’s time as host of “Saturday Night Live” in 2007, that fake United Way commercial stands out, right?

Manning was known for his competitiveness, so this made for a fun skit as he lost his temper and chucked the ball at the kids, who had no chance to grab it.

While talking at an event Wednesday, Manning talked about his concerns about doing the skit, even though Nerf footballs were used.

“I kept saying, ‘My mother is going to be so disappointed when she sees this,’” Manning said. “These kids were all child actors; the parents were out there watching the whole time. It was just very awkward and uncomfortable. And I finally told the director, ‘I just can’t do it. I can’t do it. I will go up to the edge. This feels over the edge, I’m not comfortable.’”

The director told Manning that was fine and they wouldn’t shoot the skit. At that point a parent of one of the child actors came over and said: “I want him to hit my kid in the face.”

Manning then agreed to do the skit, which you can see here:

This story was originally published August 30, 2018 at 8:25 AM.