Conflict for Archie Manning: His son vs. his beloved Saints

Enlarge By David J. Phillip, AP Archie Manning played for the Saints from 1971-1982. NEW ORLEANS — There are few people who would like to see the New Orleans Saints win their first-ever Super Bowl on Sunday more than Archie Manning. Few people have sacrificed more for the Saints than Manning, a Mississippi native who became a New Orleans icon as the talented but battered leader of mostly hapless Saints teams from 1971 to 1982. On Sunday, Manning knows that a Saints win over the Indianapolis Colts would spark an explosion of emotion in a city still rebuilding from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina 4½ years ago — a city whose beloved Saints have won more than half of their games only nine times in their 43 seasons. Now, however, a major obstacle stands between the Saints and the NFL championship: Manning's 33-year-old son, Peyton, yet another icon of New Orleans. "In a way, I kind of regret they're going to the Super Bowl against one of my son's teams," Archie Manning, 60, said in an interview with USA TODAY. "We're kind of outside the madness." NEW ORLEANS: Super Bowl mania rules the city ADS: Super Bowl marketers go all out For four decades, the Mannings — Archie, wife Olivia and sons Cooper, Peyton and Eli — have been prominent in New Orleans. They're adored by residents for Archie's years as a Saints quarterback, their community involvement (which have included leading Katrina relief efforts) and the athletic success of the sons, who were stars at a local high school. Ask residents here about the Mannings, and you'll hear answers such as "first family of New Orleans" and "the Kennedys of New Orleans." SUPER BOWL PICKS: Our analysts project the winner SAINTS HISTORY: Archie Manning just one part of franchise's past Archie and Olivia's two-story Greek Revival home on First Street in the famed Garden District is a stop on most walking tours of the city, just down the street from the former home of writerAnne Rice. Yet New Orleanians face the prospect of cheering against native son Peyton. "I'd hate to be Archie on Sunday," said Gary Solomon, 23, a family friend. "I can't think of another family more iconic and more loved in a community. They're the Kennedys." Between workouts in Miami this week, Peyton Manning acknowledged the irony surrounding Sunday's game. "I'm sure you have Saints fans who never thought this day would ever come," he told reporters. "Believe me: I never dreamed I would be playing against the Saints in a Super Bowl. Talk about special." The Manning family has made it clear that although they love the Saints — Archie cheered New Orleans' recent overtime victory in the NFC championship game from Peyton's house in Indianapolis — they'll be in Peyton's corner on Sunday. But Cooper Manning, 35, a partner in a New Orleans investment firm, acknowledges the situation is "a little awkward." "These are very unfamiliar emotions," Cooper said of taking sides against the team his father played for. "We'd like to get caught up in the moment like everyone else is. But you have to be restrained." The legend of Archie Archie Manning, a star quarterback at the University of Mississippi, was drafted by the Saints in 1971. For 12 years, he was a great quarterback on lousy teams, said Bobby Hebert, a former Saints quarterback and local broadcaster. The Saints were so bad, the team earned the nickname the "Aint's," and some fans attended home games with paper bags over their heads. Archie's grit during those tough years was admired by fans, Hebert said. "He's a big part of Saints history," Hebert said. "He showed real toughness." After his retirement in 1985, Archie thought he'd move the family to his native Mississippi. He held a family meeting and asked his sons where in Mississippi they would want to live. "Cooper said, 'I don't want to live anywhere in Mississippi. We like it here,' " Archie Manning recalled. "No one wanted to leave New Orleans. So we stayed." His sons grew up in the house on First Street, tossing the football on the front lawn and attending nearby Isidore Newman School, where they played basketball, baseball and football. Archie attended every one of his sons' games, pushing them to excel, said Billy Fitzgerald, Newman's athletic director who coached all three sons in basketball and baseball. That commitment to family continued even after Peyton left to play at the University of Tennessee and Archie was broadcasting for the Saints. Archie would watch Eli play at Newman on Friday nights, fly to wherever Peyton was playing with the Volunteers on Saturday, then meet up with the Saints on Sunday to call their game, said Jim Henderson, his broadcast partner then. After the Saints game, an exhausted Archie Manning would pull out a legal pad on the team's charter flight home and write out his schedule for the following week, Henderson said. The routine went on for years. "I don't think you can do a better job than what Archie and Olivia have done with those kids," said Henderson, now the Saints play-by-play announcer on radio. For 30 years, Archie Manning ran a golf tournament for the local chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and was involved with the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, an annual golf event that raises millions of dollars for local charities, said Solomon's father, also named Gary. "Archie never turns down anybody," the older Solomon said. When Hurricane Katrina hit, unleashing floods that destroyed 80% of New Orleans, Archie and his eldest son, Cooper, evacuated their families to Oxford, Miss., Cooper Manning said. Less than a week after the floods, Peyton and Eli, then 29, joined a flight that transported 31,000 pounds of baby formula, diapers, water and other items to ruined neighborhoods. Archie, who briefly evacuated his family to Mississippi during the Katrina crisis, attended events honoring firefighters and other first responders and helping to raise funds to rebuild the city. His home was relatively unscathed by the flooding. In February 2006, with the city in ruins and the Superdome battered, Archie attended a meeting of the Sugar Bowl Committee. The Allstate Sugar Bowl, a major moneymaker, is held each year in the Superdome, the Saints' stadium. The bowl game's future in New Orleans seemed bleak after Katrina, said Jerry Romig, another committee member. Archie called universities and members of Congress, assuring them the Superdome would be rebuilt and the Sugar Bowl could return, Romig said. "If he picks up the phone and calls you, you're going to take that call," Romig said. "He worked hard convincing people the Sugar Bowl will be back." During their eight-month exile, there was never a doubt the Mannings would return to New Orleans, Cooper Manning said. "This city's a big part of who we are," Cooper said. "It's our friends, our families, our roots. We have ties to Mississippi, but we're New Orleans guys." The Manning family's return to the city was a morale boost to some residents who were questioning whether they should come back, City Council President Arnie Fielkow said. "They're an anchor to the city of New Orleans," he said. "They contribute in so many ways." 'Peyton is the enemy' Across New Orleans this week, fans are balancing their fervor for the Saints with reverence for the Mannings. Tony Reginelli, Peyton and Cooper's football coach at Newton, said he would like to see his former player win his second Super Bowl but also is excited for New Orleans. He has followed the Saints since their first game at Tulane Stadium in 1967. Last month, Peyton Manning mailed Reginelli two blue Colts sweatshirts, a subtle appeal for his support, Reginelli, 75, said. "I'm glad they're both there," Reginelli said of the Colts and Saints, whose quarterback, Drew Brees, also is active in the community. "You have two great teams, two great quarterbacks and two great cities that deserve this." Darryl Berger, 62, a real estate investor, saw his sons play football and basketball with the Manning boys and became a family friend. He'll be in Miami to watch the game. His strategy: Cheer for whoever has the ball. "It's a win-win," Berger said. "Sure, it's a conflict in the sense that everyone likes Peyton and everyone likes the Saints. But if the team loses, there's no one you'd like to see triumph more than Peyton." For others, the matchup is less of a dilemma. For every home game since 1987, Lionel Alphonso, 62, of Violet, La., has dressed in a fleur-de-lis-emblazoned pope outfit and blessed the team before kickoff. The Saints' winning season has eased the pain of losing his home and business to Katrina, he said. For three hours on Sunday, the hometown hero will be Public Enemy No. 1, he said. "We love Peyton. We love Archie," he said. "But for this one game, Peyton is the enemy." Fan Al D'Aquin said he remembers fighting over the No. 8 jersey — Archie Manning's old number — as a kid in Little League football. Archie Manning will forever be New Orleans' most iconic figure, he said. But come Sunday, nothing will be more important than a Saints victory. "As much as we love the Mannings and love what they've done for the city, our love for the Saints trumps that," said D'Aquin, 47, who is driving a black-and-gold RV to the game in Miami. "It's been 43 long years." In the Garden District neighborhood where the Mannings live, yard signs emblazoned with "Who Dat!" — the Saints' rallying cry — mark the front yards of homes. On nearby Magazine Street, shops sell "WHO DAT NATION" T-shirts, and one sweet shop, Sucre, sells cakes in the shape of Saints and Colts helmets. At the Rum House Caribbean Taqueria, which fills with Saints fans on game days, the lunchtime talk this week was dominated by Sunday's game — and the irony of a Saints-vs.-Manning matchup. Loyalties were clear. Sarah Dunn, 27, a gallery owner, said she recognizes what the Mannings mean to New Orleans and all they've done for the city post-Katrina. But the city, including her family, has waited a long time for the Saints to make it to the Super Bowl. "I'll cheer when (Peyton) gets sacked," Dunn said. "But, he's a great guy."