Peyton Manning's Head-Injury Joke on SNL: Funny or Disturbing?

Earlier this month, we noted that Peyton Manning is better than Tom Brady — on Saturday Night Live. That's one reason PFM was included among the galaxy of stars on SNL's 40th anniversary special. The show debuted last night (it's set for rebroadcast on Friday), and much as we love...

By Michael Roberts

February 16, 2015

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Earlier this month, we noted that Peyton Manning is better than Tom Brady — on Saturday Night Live. That's one reason PFM was included among the galaxy of stars on SNL's 40th anniversary special.

The show debuted last night (it's set for rebroadcast on Friday), and much as we love Peyton, his first spotlight moment was kinda awkward: After Steve Martin expressed satisfaction with Manning's backstage comment about the Wild and Crazy Guy's athletic potential, the once and (we hope) future Broncos QB said, "I get hit in the head a lot."

We're trying not to read too much into that — but the honor was still considerable, given that Manning was the only athlete featured in Steve Martin's opening monologue, which also included Paul McCartney, Paul Simon, Melissa McCarthy, Billy Crystal, Chris Rock and Alec Baldwin. And he returned to introduce a salute to athletes on SNL alongside Derek Jeter, who suggested that the Yankee legend's episode was universally considered to be the finest ever to be hosted by a jock. Manning begged to differ, and so do we.

Check out both clips below. In the first, Manning enters just past the 4:30 mark.

Send your story tips to the author, Michael Roberts.

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Michael Roberts began his career with Westword in 1990 as music editor. In 1999, he took on a new role, full-time media reporter, as author of a column called The Message. In 2008, he became the lead writer for Westword's news blog, The Latest Word, a position he held until January 2023. Michael continues to freelance for Westword, covering everything from business to sports and the media; he also contributes to Jazziz, a national music magazine. He holds a bachelor's degree from what is now Colorado Mesa University and master's degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Northwestern University.

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