All-Pro Guests Visiting Allen Fieldhouse

You never know who you’ll run into in the historic hallways of The Phog and sometimes the iconic stars you run into aren’t hoopsters.  I couldn’t have been more impressed with how gracious and kind Peyton Manning was in the brief conversation I had with him while he visited for the KU / Tennessee game.  He took a genuine interest in my duties as “Voice of the Jayhawks” and then we shared a laugh over some rapping he and his brother Eli once did for a DIRECTV endorsement.  He was engaging and impressively down to earth.  

Patrick is one of my favorite “kids” I’ve ever covered, getting to follow him not only on the gridiron at Texas Tech but also briefly as a pitcher in baseball.  Much like Manning, Mahomes is surprisingly grounded despite his meteoric rise to NFL Superstardom.  Seeing him come to a KU hoops game and fire up the KU crowd during a timeout as he stood and waved his arms in the air brought a huge smile to my face, as a I thought, “Here’s a kid that truly gets it. He’s thriving on the field and embracing his new home and fanbase in ways that will endear him to this area for countless years to come.” I have no doubt, like Manning, Patrick will stay genuine and approachable even as his rise continues.  The only question is: which of the two winds up with more Super Bowls and MVP’s?  Seems like the smart money is on Mahomes.

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