Despite beating the San Diego Chargers in an important divisional game, Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning was not all smiles after Thursday night’s game. Manning was quick to express his displeasure with the Sports Authority Field scoreboard operator, and he didn’t seem like he was joking.
“I have no problem with our fans, our fans are great,” Manning told reporters, via Frank Schwab of Shutdown Corner. “I’ve got a problem with our scoreboard operator. I’ve got to have a little talk with him.”
With the Broncos leading 35-21 and looking to kill the remainder of the clock, House of Pain’s “Jump Around” began playing over the stadium PA system. Aqib Talib was shown on the big screen dancing, which of course ignited the crowd even more. Manning waved his arms to try to get the fans to quiet down after the two-minute warning. The Broncos ended up with a false-start penalty, though it’s unclear if it was related to crowd noise.
In addition to the “Jump Around” shenanigans, Manning was also upset that Philip Rivers was shown on the stadium videoboard multiple times so the fans could boo him.
“I’m not sure what he’s doing,” he said. “He’s playing music and showing players dancing and getting the crowd fired up when we have the ball. I don’t think we should be doing that. I don’t think we should be showing their quarterback on the sideline. I thought it was disrespectful. Our fans were great, our fans were loud, but the scoreboard operator, it wasn’t his best night.”
Peyton is a very funny guy with a dry sense of humor, but he clearly wasn’t joking.
If Manning came face-to-face with the scoreboard operator after the game, he probably would have given him the same treatment he gave Julius Thomas earlier this year. You can expect a few changes during Denver’s next home game.
