Everyone knows what Eli Manning can do with his arm. On Saturday, the world will find out what kind of personality the Giants quarterback has when he takes the stage as the special guest host on Saturday Night Live.
Manning will be the first NFL quarterback to face the bright lights of the SNL stage since his brother Peyton played the starring role five years ago. Before Manning, it was another NFL great, Tom Brady, facing the pressure of performing in front of a live studio audience on NBC’s popular sketch-comedy show.
Can Manning handle the pressure? He’s done it on the football field, and he has two NFL titles to prove it.
Manning sounded excited about taking on a new challenge.
“The good thing about ‘Saturday Night Live’ is you can come in and maybe express the different sides that people don’t see,” Manning said earlier this week. “Maybe that’s not you at all times, but for this night you can kind of let loose.”
The Giants signal caller won’t be the only star making a live performance on the SNL stage Saturday night; Pop superstar Rihanna is scheduled to be the musical guest for the evening.
As if this week’s episode hasn’t gotten enough attention, the network released several promo videos on its website and its Facebook page.
According to the Associated Press, Manning had a meeting with the show’s writers in the beginning of the week and laid his eyes on the script for the first time on Wednesday. Manning, who’s known to spend a lot of time in the video room preparing for games, had three days to prepare for his much-anticipated performance.
-With Associated Press