A Lowe blow?: Peyton Manning takes on Sodapop
January 24, 2012 7:38PM
**RAW FILE** Actor Rob Lowe and his family walk on the field before the NFL divisional football playoff game between the Indianapolis Colts and the Baltimore Ravens, Saturday, Jan. 16, 2010 in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan)
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Updated: February 26, 2012 8:16AM
Sorry, Rob Lowe.
Peyton Manning is not retiring, at least not any time soon.
“I never thought Sodapop Curtis would announce my retirement,” Manning said, laughing, referring to Lowe’s character in the 1983 movie “The Outsiders.” “I always thought I would be the one to announce it. I’m a huge fan of the movie, but that caught me way off guard. I can’t explain it. I know [Lowe] is a friend of [owner] Jim’s [Irsay], and Jim sounded surprised.”
Lowe tweeted the news last week.
So, no, Manning isn’t on the cusp of retirement. In a wide-ranging, exclusive interview with the Indianapolis Star, Manning hit on a variety of topics, including his health, his sadness over the firings of several coaches, his minimal relationship with new general manager Ryan Grigson and the future.
For the record, Manning and Grigson finally met, briefly, last week when the two ran across each other in the facility.
“One thing [Grigson] kind-of, sort-of told me, without really wanting to tell me, was that Irsay will be the guy I’m going to sit down and talk with,” Manning said. “That’s going to happen at some point, but we haven’t had that conversation yet because we really don’t need to have that conversation yet.”
The Colts organization is undergoing a major change, and that hasn’t been easy on Manning.
“I’m not in a very good place for healing, let’s say that,” he said, referring to the practice facility. “It’s not a real good environment down there right now, to say the least. Everybody’s walking around on eggshells. I don’t recognize our building right now. There’s such complete and total change.
“I mean, it’s 20 degrees, it’s snowing, the building is absolutely empty except when you see coaches cleaning out their offices.”
And when it’s time to make an announcement on his future, Manning hopes he can do it on his own terms.
“Hopefully,” he said, “Sodapop Curtis doesn’t tweet it before I can say anything.”
Indianapolis Star
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