Peyton Manning came to the Olympics Opening Ceremony prepared

Former Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning claps during a Ring of Honor induction ceremony for Tarik Glenn on Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022, during a game against the Washington Commanders at Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Photo Credit: Jenna Watson/IndyStar/USA TODAY NETWORK

Peyton Manning is serving as one of the hosts for NBC’s coverage of the Olympics, and the famous quarterback came prepared.

Manning showed off the playcaller’s wristband he was wearing for NBC’s coverage of the Opening Ceremony in Paris on Friday. He was prepared for the broadcast just like he used to be prepared during his playing days.

Peyton Manning came prepared with a playcaller's wristband at the #ParisOlympics Opening Ceremony. 😂

📺 Opening Ceremony on NBC and Peacock pic.twitter.com/pA4jVAmlhc

— Sunday Night Football on NBC (@SNFonNBC) July 26, 2024

That looks like a joke, but Manning indisputably had done his homework prior to the broadcast.

The former NFL QB shared information about many of the participating countries as well as the athletes from the United States. He had communicated with many American athletes and was able to mix in some anecdotes on the broadcast based on his text message correspondences with them.

If there was any doubt about how Manning — and to another extent, Tom Brady — would do as announcers, we may have our answer. Combining preparation with personality usually is a good formula for on-air success.