On Peyton Manning Kissing Papa John After The Superbowl, Then Saying Several Times He Was Going To Drink A Lot of Budweiser

Peyton cheapened his personal brand for products during what was likely his last shining moment. That is, of course, only until his Hall of Fame induction ensues, and Peyton... whips out a Sham Wow to extoll its virtues as he shines his bust ~ What Peyton Manning Lost After Winning Super Bowl 50 by Stephen Rosa, 2/9/2016.

First of all, let me note that I did not learn of this by actually watching the Superbowl. I have zero interest in football, or any other televised sport. I can not imagine anything on TV more boring which some people consider "entertainment".

No, I skipped this event entirely, and am confounded that (according to what I've heard) the ratings/viewership set records. As for the Peyton/Pappa love affair, Peyton isn't the guy who cheated by deflating balls, nor is he the guy who went to prison for animal cruelty (and then was rehired by another football team). And I just recently saw a rerun of the time he appeared on SNL (and did a decent job).

My point is that he seems to be someone that people like. So I guess I couldn't say anything bad about him, except for his association with the Papa John jerk. I've seen the commercials and wondered why Manning would want to be associated with a company founded by such a dick. And, remember, Peyton isn't just shilling for Papa's crappy pizza (so I've heard), he also appears alongside Papa in these commercials.

...the political firestorm - when [Papa John] Schnatter warned that Obama's health care changes would raise pizza prices and could cost workers their jobs. Most famously, Comedy Central's Steven Colbert, responding to Schnatter's claim that the insurance law could add as much as 14 cents to the cost of a pizza, said: "That's three times the value of a Papa John's pizza". ...pundits and late-night comedians have mocked and vilified him for saying the health care overhaul might add 14 cents to the cost of each pizza - and that some franchisees might cut workers' hours to avoid paying insurance costs. ... Though conservatives cheered Schnatter for telling it like it is, Trout, the former consultant, said it was a horrible public-relations error. "Why upset half your market?" Trout asked. "Why would you even go there?" ... Unlike former Godfather's CEO and Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain, Schnatter says he has no desire "right now" to run for office, though he adds, "You never want to say never". Schnatter is a registered Republican but says he grew up in a staunch Democratic Southern Indiana family.He said he supported Romney — he and his wife gave $120,800 to Romney and the Republican National Committee last year - because of his support for balancing the budget. (Papa John makes no apology for wealth, Obamacare remarks by The Louisville KY Courier-Journal. NYT 1/14/2013).

On the other hand the article says Papa John added that it was "good news [that] 100% of the population is going to get health insurance". Apparently he's "cool with that [because] "we've always wanted 100% of our employees on health care". Yeah, I don't quite buy that, given the fact that he originally said "we're not supportive of Obamacare".

If he REALLY wanted "100% of our employees on health care", he could have spoke about how good a deal the ACA is for him at 14 cents per pizza. At the very least he could have kept his mouth shut instead of fear mongering over 14 cents (and avoided the bad press). Sounds to me like he is/was against the ACA and - after the negative publicity over the remarks - backtracked. If he does get into politics (and hopefully he does not) we'll probably see his true (Republican) colors.

As for Manning, a link within the quoted story says "Peyton Manning to own 21 Papa John's locations". And the Denver Post reports that "Peyton Manning rolling in the dough with Papa John's profits".

Which explains the smooch. Republican love being based on money. Not that I know whether or not Manning is a Republican. I wouldn't be surprised if he was, however. As for the Budweiser plug, the Washington Post (The real story of Peyton Manning's weird love for Budweiser, Papa John's and Gatorade) notes that the quarterback (?) "owns a stake of two of the mega-brewer's distributors in his native state of Louisiana".

So, no, he wasn't paid by Bud for his endorsement, but he did benefit financially. Was this Manning's way of circumventing the fact that "the National Football League bans players from officially endorsing alcohol brands"? Can he not be paid for an endorsement or not endorse period? Is this something the NFL at least issue him a warning over?

The WP notes that "companies paid an average of $5 million for 30 seconds of super-saturated airtime during Super Bowl 50", yet with Manning's mention Bud got free airtime which some marketing firm says amounted to 3 million dollars in "in brand recognition value". Given the fact that I really don't give a crap about anything Superbowl related, I am not seriously outraged... but I do see this as another example of the rich getting richer. Because the wealthier one becomes the easier it is to make money (I'm going to drink beer = 3 million $).

And Mr. 47 percent Romney was a terrible candidate that exemplified the Right's contempt for the poor. That Papa John supported him (with a fundraiser at his mega mansion) is just another reason for me to not like the guy. Or Manning for his association with him.

Image: A gif of Peyton smooching his money honey Papa. btw, WHY was Papa allowed on the field?

SWTD #322