So what exactly is NFL Playback, the new venture announced yesterday by VICE Sports and Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions?
Think of it as the Manningcast for old NFL games, but without the Mannings–maybe, if it’s one of their contests, they surely will be a voice on that episode. Omaha will produce the shows for VICE’s cable channel.
Speaking to a crowd at a Vice Media reception in Manhattan last night to celebrate the partnership, Manning picked an example from Super Bowl XLI, which his Colts won over the Chicago Bears, as the type of insight NFL Playback will boast.
“I was recently at an event in Indianapolis with Tony Dungy, my coach with the Colts, and I had never heard the story before,” Manning said. “We played that Super Bowl, played the Bears, and we, Devin Hester ran the opening kickoff back for a touchdown. Y’all remember that game, and all week we weren’t going to kick to him, that was the game plan, but we kicked to him. He ran the opening kickoff back. And they asked Dungy what happened in that, and this is the first time I’ve heard this story, he went to chapel that morning, and the sermon was on David and Goliath and coach Dungy’s interpretation of the sermon was that Devin Hester was Goliath and we were David, and so he kicked to him. And Hester ran the opening kickoff back.
The punchline? Dungy admitted he may have misinterpreted the sermon.
The series will premiere on VICE TV this September, with six one-hour episodes on consecutive Wednesday nights. The games, which Vice has a license from NFL Films for, have not been selected.
Manning had another example of a game he’d like to see featured in NFL Playback. Super Bowl XLII, the New York Giants stunning upset of the undefeated New England Patriots featuring Peyton’s brother Eli. That was the game of the famous helmet catch, when Manning escaped a scrum and threw a desperation third down, late fourth quarter heave. David Tyree caught it, with the ball wedged against his helmet, in what would be the last catch of his career..
“If I had to pick just one (for NFL Playback), it’d probably be my brother’s game against the Patriots, when the Patriots were undefeated and the Giants won that game,” Manning said. “To have Eli kind of take people behind the ropes in that game and to hear about the play to Tyree, the touchdown to Plaxico (Burress)…(Eli’s) kind of caught in this scrum and Vrabel’s got him, and he kind of is about to get out, and before he makes the throw to Tyree, he kind of thinks like he’s going to lateral to an offensive lineman. He’s going to throw it forward to a guy named Chris Snee, which would have been an illegal forward pass. It would have been the worst play ever. He almost threw it to that. Instead, he doesn’t throw that, and he pulls back and makes maybe the greatest play in history.”
Vice, which is owned by private equity, has been making a big push into sports on its platforms.. Two series recently followed NCAA head coaches Rick Pitino and John Calipari. Recent VICE Sports premieres include Brady vs Belichick: The Verdict, hosted by Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo. VICE Sports has also added live events, Arena Football One and BKB Bare Knuckle Boxing, and expects to add more live content.