Tom Brady and Peyton Manning had a rivalry for the ages during their playing days. The two were on the best teams in the AFC at the time and had legendary matchups in the playoffs. While Brady still isn’t eligible for Hall of Fame induction, Manning got his gold jacket back in 2021, after retiring in 2016. He gave a great speech as well, but it was the crowd’s reaction to Brady’s presence that made the most headlines. Let’s revisit.
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Brady and Manning squared off 17 times over the course of their careers. Brady came out on top 11 of those times, but Manning proved to be the bigger threat when it counted. In the playoffs, Manning held a 3-2 edge over Brady. Including an AFC Championship win in the final year of his career, which ultimately got Manning his second Super Bowl. A rivalry for the ages, indeed.
Given their history, Brady’s presence at Manning’s Hall of Fame induction in Canton in 2021 was a given. By then, Brady was playing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, fresh off his seventh Super Bowl victory. When Manning acknowledged the legendary quarterback during his speech, the crowd’s reaction was anything but subtle, making it clear how they felt about his presence.
“And speaking of my rivals, Tom Brady is here tonight, by the time he is inducted,” Manning began, only to be drowned out by a chorus of loud boos.
But Brady embraced the reaction, as he normally does. He smiled, turned around, and simply mouthed the words, “What’s up with that? What did I do wrong?”
It was a hilarious reaction that went viral during and after the ceremony. But the full quote from Manning’s speech about Brady was quite funny once he got the crowd to settle down.
“Next year, acceptance speeches will probably shrink to four minutes. And speaking of rivals, my good friend Tom Brady is here tonight. By the time Tom Brady is inducted in his first year of eligibility in the year 2035, he’ll only have time to post his acceptance speech on his Instagram account,” quipped the former Bronco.
Manning gave a nice, lighthearted jab at Brady once the boos settled. And he got a laugh out of the crowd. Manning has been a very funny person post-playing career. He has great comedic timing, and even hosted the ESPYs once because of it.
However, while Brady got the best of Manning in their overall head-to-head matchups, recently, TB12 expressed how scared he was of the 2007 Colts that went all the way and won the Super Bowl.
“Getting the band back together in Indy next week to share stories from our Super Bowl XLI season. Gear up with Night of Champions merch at the link in bio,” Manning wrote in a post back in February.
Brady took the comments and penned, “This group still gives me nightmares.”
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The Patriots and Colts matched up in the 2007 playoffs and played an unforgettable classic. Brady got the Pats out to an early 21-3 lead before halftime. But then Manning led the Colts to 18 unanswered points and tied the game up near the end of the 3rd quarter. Then, the two legends proceeded to toss haymakers at one another.
Brady took the lead, but Manning quickly tied it. Then, Stephen Gostkowski and Adam Vinatieri exchanged field goals. Brady got Gostkowski into range to hit another, putting the Patriots ahead with 3:49 to go. However, Manning remained calm, leading his team down the field to score a touchdown and take the lead with just one minute left in the game.
Brady managed to get the ball to New England’s 45-yard line at the end, but his pass was intercepted, which basically sealed the game. The Colts won and went on to defeat the Bears in Super Bowl XLI.
This was such an intense rivalry between the two quarterbacks that it was only natural Brady received boos at the HoF ceremony. But it’s a good reminder of which two quarterbacks owned the previous era, and how passionate it made some fans toward each of them.
