Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning calls an audible at the line of scrimmage against the San Diego Chargers in the second quarter of an NFL divisional playoff football game in Denver.We have a few days to break down the proper logistics of the NFL playoff matchups. In fact, we’ll spend a huge chunk of the rest of the week on that.
Today, we are making a request. We do not make requests often or with light intentions. We are not as hard or as steadfast as The Godfather, of whom Tom Hagen famously said, “Mr. Corleone never asks a second favor once he’s refused the first, understood?” No, we are making a request that we believe could be fun for this weekend and great for our town.
Ride along.
We all watched Peyton Manning manipulate the San Diego Chargers with his presnap routine that featured a slew of buzz words and city names. Whether they meant anything or were just dummy words — or better yet, code names — is only for Manning and the Denver Broncos offense to know. Still, the most common one Manning used was “Omaha.”
By one count, Manning said the city known for steaks, insurance, the College World Series and Warren Buffet as many as 44 times. It was so common and clear, the word “Omaha” started trending on Twitter. It was such good publicity, the business folks and the chamber people in the Nebraska city sent Peyton a thank-you and even have contemplated whether they can afford him as a pitch man. (Hey, Omaha, if you have to ask, you can’t afford it.)