Following in the Footsteps of Shaquille O’Neal, Eli Manning Once Decided to Dress in Drag & Absolutely Nailed the Look

Shaquille O’Neal and Eli Manning are not scared to express themselves, and if they need to get into drag for it, so be it. Shaq had the entire NBA world rolling when he revealed his Halloween costume for the fall of 2010. The NBA legend killed it as “Shaqueeta,” in a brown bobbed wig, a diagonally striped blouse, a black skirt, and an ample bosom.

He took it another step further as he perfectly lip-synced to Beyonce’s Sweet Dreams inside a parked vehicle he had been driving. O’Neal gave a performance of a lifetime as Shaqueeta, and was all the buzz for a while there. Not soon after, then Giants QB Eli Manning made an appearance on SNL, again in drag, and blew people’s minds with his comedic chops.

In 2012, the younger Manning brother landed the spot of SNL host and knocked it out of the park. The retired QB took shots at Tim Tebow and as always, his big brother, Peyton Manning. As confident and cheeky as ever, Peyton embodied the role of “Miss ChickenFried Steak” for ‘Miss Drag World 2012’ and did not take placing third well. Much like Shaqueeta, Miss Chicken was an instant hit with fans, in her yellow night gown and huge hair.

It’s not a secret that the Manning brothers are a hoot and a half. They regularly show off their comedic talents on their popular Sports show ‘The ManningCast’ and their time as professional athletes was also peppered with funny advertisements or sketches such as this. In fact, even Peyton Manning once dipped his toes in the SNL stratosphere, a sketch that is currently making a reappearance.

Peyton Manning’s Blast From the Past

While Peyton Manning’s SNL spot had nothing to do with drag (what a letdown!) it was still quite hilarious. Filmed in 2007, it is still the internet’s favorite meme moment from the legendary quarterback. So when on a recent episode of the ManningCast, Peyton brought out his son, Marshall, and four of his friends to demonstrate how San Francisco uses pre-snap movement to disorganize a defense, Twitterati were quick to reminisce about the time he was coaching children.

Eli asked Peyton, “Is this what you do — do you yell at your players like that,” after the demonstration. “Do you yell at them all the time?” The yelling had fans transported back to 2007, and they soon started drawing parallels from the SNL skit from a long ago.

The former Colts and Broncos quarterback starred in SNL’s hilarious United Way spoof, that had him yelling and throwing balls at little children, in not the most charitable way. His barking orders at children once more, this time in his basement, had fans experience a hilarious blast from the past. Here’s the classic SNL skit: