The Manning Brothers' Funniest Moments

Though they're clearly best known for their undeniable football talent, over the years both Peyton and Eli Manning have established themselves as quite the comedians, too.

And while Peyton is unquestionably the funnier brother, Eli's been known to generate plenty of chuckles as well. 

More importantly, when their powers combine true hilarity tends to follow. 

Whether it's in commercials, staged skits, hip-hop videos or more natural settings, the Manning brothers are never far from a chorus of laughs. 

With some of their most memorably humorous antics in mind, we've done our best to justly honoring the Comedy Bros., specifically spotlighting the Manning Brothers’ 12 funniest moments.

Some clips are old, others are new, but whether they feature Peyton, Eli or both, one thing remains true: The Mannings will make you laugh till your face turns blue!

Manning Interviewing Manning

We begin our tour of humor with the moment when Peyton and Eli first came together as a comedic duo.

The humorous exchange took place on draft day 2004 and shows older brother Peyton interviewing little brother Eli just after San Diego selected the latter with the first overall pick. 

The clip's highlights include competitive, but playful discussions concerning who's hotter, who's naturally more talented and who knows whose weaknesses. 

Capturing Eli's infancy in the league, as well as Peyton's cordial welcoming, the moment is every bit as charming as it is funny. 

Manning Moves MasterCards

When talking the Mannings and humor, spotlighting Peyton is a must. After all, the guy is a living legend in the comedic commercial business.

And, early in his career, his work for MasterCard was some of his very best. 

In the specific spot above, Manning provides viewers with a "Priceless Pep Talk" that's as classically funny as it is explicitly demeaning, in the process proving that he is one of the few humans on earth who can both insult and amuse at the very same time. 

Of course, Manning's MasterCard genius hardly ended there.

In another instance, the unassuming entertainer proves his legitimate worth as an actor—as foolish as we know it is, Manning's downright convincing when he asks a local stock boy to autograph his melon—before hilariously introducing some of our most football-specific quirks and rituals into ordinary daily life. 

Peyton Promotes Sprint...and Peyton

Sticking with Peyton, and his prolific career in the commercial biz, we move now to the elder Manning's classic pitch for Sprint, which will forever rank among his absolute best.

Over the years—despite his immense fame, talent and success—Peyton has always come across as particularly relatable, sporting an "aw-shucks" everyman disposition.

His demeanor, in particular, has made the quarterback incredibly likable.

Of course, the same accessible personality also allowed him to perfectly pull off the spot above, in which his contrived, but considerable arrogance amuses rather than offends.   

And, sure, we know he's disguised, but who's that 'stache really fooling?

Brothers Being Brothers

With the spot above, we bring the brothers back together, and stick with their early work.

In the mold of say George Carlin or the great Woody Allen—social satirists who made a living through observational humor—ESPN has, to a slightly lesser extent, excelled in a similar fashion with their "This Is SportsCenter" campaign, which ironically inserts superstar athletes into overtly mundane, run-of-the-mill scenarios.

Of course, one of the first, and funniest, of these bits features both Peyton and Eli, who—despite their status as world-class athletes and modern-day celebrities—apparently still quarrel like the pettiest and most average of American brothers. 

Peyton Being Peyton

For as long as the sports world has known Peyton, he's come across as a particularly lighthearted and playful character.

But, for the most part, when the cameras are rolling, athletes only show us their best selves, shaping their images with careful precision.

Sometimes, it makes trusting them a difficult proposition.

For this very reason, seeing athletes in their most natural habit—on the playing field, to be exact—can both illuminate and entertain. 

The video above shows Peyton stretching during practice for the 2011 Pro Bowl, but that's not all. 

His funny and equally inventive prank on then-rival Wes Welker confirms what we thought all along: Peyton really is just one of the guys, and a hilarious one at that. 

Peyton Demands Sweat

Sticking with Peyton's funniest commercial moments, we'd be remiss if we didn't highlight one of his recent hits for Gatorade.

In the multi-commercial campaign, gas station customers—specifically those who aren't noticeably sweaty—are hilariously refused in their attempts to purchase Gatorade.

More specifically—in the spot above—an innocent, unaware and increasingly frustrated patron is forced to wait on a final ruling from the store manager, who, of course, is Peyton himself.         

Playing the part to perfection, Peyton picks up the bottle of Gatorade, takes one momentary glance, and then casually asserts, "No, you gotta be sweatin. You gotta be sweatin to have that," before informing the woman that she must "get some back sweat going" if she truly wants to purchase the drink. 

All told, Peyton's delivery, many different expressions, and the commercial as a whole will forever stand as nothing short of priceless.

Rapping Mannings

For this humorous moment we jump ahead in time, to Peyton and Eli's more recent foray into modern hip-hop. 

In an attempt to promote DirecTV's fantasy football channel, the two brothers reveal their self-deprecating sides, bringing the rap-and-rhyme game to a brand new low.

And boy are we happy they did.  

Thankfully, it wasn't the last time, either, that they proved willing and able to facetiously laugh at themselves, and we've all chuckled a whole lot more as a result. 

Burgundy Meets Peyton

While Peyton Manning's exceptionally funny, Will Ferrell's even funnier.

Yet, funniest of all, is Ferrell's famous portrayal of fictional anchorman Ron Burgundy.

Throw all that together, and on an ESPN set no less, and you've got one of the most memorably hilarious interviews in the history of sports broadcasting.   

Pop some corn, sit back and enjoy!

The Wrong UnitedWay

Like most famous athletes, Peyton regularly gives back to his community, and that includes spending time with local youth groups.

Not so surprisingly, when the NFL star made an appearance on NBC's Saturday Night Live, the show's writers used his charitable habits as the backdrop for a legendarily humorous United Way parody skit.

Inspired by moments that just about every athletic adult male has experienced—more specifically, playing competitive sports with much younger children—the bit shows Peyton quarterbacking a group of unaccomplished middle schoolers.   

And, just like so many other serious ballers, Peyton gets grossly carried away in the action, shamefully refusing to take it easy on either his or the other team.  

From drilling balls off receivers' backs and ridiculing those who come up woefully short, to hitting on a teammate's mom and telling the other kids he'd "kill a snitch," Manning plays the part of incompetent and inappropriate mentor to laugh-out-loud perfection.

Eli's Awkward Interview

It's taken a while, but we've finally made it to a humorous moment in which Eli stars all on his lonesome. 

The featured clip shows the younger Manning giving a casual interview to Team CoolKids, and we have to give tons of credit to the young woman asking the questions. She's intentionally awkward and comedically sharp.  

As for Eli, he navigates his way through the clumsy, randomly disjointed and equally uncomfortable interview like a true champ.

His eye rolls are on point while his blank stares and extended periods of silence hit home, too. And, when he tells the interviewer that he'll give her "an address" rather than his address, viewers can't do anything but laugh. 

Peyton Rules the World

In addition to being funny and absolutely amazing at football, Peyton has always had a little savvy politician in him as well.

Over the years, in the public's eye, he's sort of taken on the shape of a venerable Renaissance Man. 

As a result, it was both fitting and over-the-top funny when—at the 2009 ESPYs—producers showed a staged, behind-the-scenes look at Peyton taking "private" phone calls on an ESPN set, which included quick chats with other superstar athletes, world leaders, Hollywood directors, medical surgeons and famous musicians. 

While simply waiting just a few minutes for Chris Berman to show up for a scheduled interview, Peyton scolds North Korea's Kim Jong-il for violating "three UN resolutions," offers directorial advice to Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese, helps a pilot with an emergency landing and a doctor with open-heart surgery, and catches up with both Prince and Britney Spears. 

Did you know Peyton, rather than Britney, was responsible for writing the No. 1 single "Womanizer"?

Football Cops!

We end our tour of funny Manning moments the best way we know how, with the brothers coming back together one last time.

In an all-time classic trailer (NSFW) promoting "a new kind of show about a new kind of cop," Peyton—or Mike Tahoe—teams up with Eli—also known as C.J. Hunter—in an attempt to save "a city overrun by crime and corruption."

In the truly unforgettable two minutes and 37 seconds, the two "Football Cops" can be seen impaling felons with footballs, conducting drug busts and saving beauties from exploding buildings, though, in truth, Eli's mustache alone—perfectly manicured into horseshoe perfection—makes viewing the bit a worthwhile endeavor. 

To top it all off, the work of art ends just how it must: with a priceless exchange between Peyton and Eli...or, should we say, Tahoe and Hunter. 

After Peyton sets a kingpin ablaze with just a single toss of the football, he walks over to Eli and flawlessly delivers the quintessential one-liner: "Guess nobody told him that justice was a team sport."

And, with hand on hip and just the right mix of general relief and utter confusion, Eli shakes his head, shrugs and asks, "What does that mean?" 

Finally, Peyton confidently nods and with great certainty utters five simple words: "He knows what it means!"