A battle of Mannings

MIAMI | Peyton Manning has been improvising since childhood.

When he was a little kid and his dad Archie played quarterback for the New Orleans Saints -- Manning's Super Bowl opponent this weekend -- he and older brother Cooper often played out on the Superdome's turf while dad showered.

They wadded up tape that the players had discarded and played one-on-one football on the 100-yard field.

"The first person to score twice, you are pretty much exhausted after that," Peyton said.

Archie usually exited the locker room and signed autographs for the faithful Saints fans who sat through 21 seasons before the team's first winning campaign.

Peyton, born in 1976, was 5 years old when his dad played his last game for the Saints, with whom he spent 11 of his 15 professional seasons. Peyton didn't know his dad was in pain after being routinely pounded by opponents and piling up nearly 100 losses in the black and gold of the struggling franchise. He stayed positive though, refusing to be negative around his sons.

Peyton has used those lessons to remain upbeat despite just a 9-8 career record in the playoffs. The Colts quarterback can cement himself as one of the all-time greats this weekend if he wins Super Bowl XLIV against the team he followed, literally, as a kid.

Eli Manning, the third son, is just as positive. He, like Peyton, has one Super Bowl ring to his credit. Cooper, two years Manning's senior, played receiver at Ole Miss, alma mater of Archie and Eli, but had his career cut short by a spinal condition. Peyton went to Tennessee but has said he would have gone to Mississippi if Cooper would have been healthy.

The family patriarch never even made the playoffs. He did, however, raise his sons to be winners and hard workers.

"If you want to do well, you'd better have a good work ethic," Peyton said. "I have tried to instill that in myself and remember that. That is one of the many pieces of advice that (Archie) has given me."

This week Peyton recalled one of the links between his dad's Saints and the current squad -- Dan "Chief" Simmons and Silky Powell are still equipment guys for the Saints.

"Cooper and I used to run those guys wild," Peyton said. "We used to be a pain in those guys' rears, I can guarantee you. They were always great to us, kind of looking out for us, taking care of the quarterback's kids. It is special to be in this Super Bowl, but to have those guys in the game as well."

Manning admits he never thought the futility-ridden Saints would ever be here playing his team, pitting his father against the team that gave him his start with the team that has employed his son since the 1998 draft. For the record, Archie is wholeheartedly rooting for the Colts this weekend.

"I'm a hundred percent on that, 100 percent -- it's not close," Archie, who still lives in New Orleans, told the Associated Press after the AFC championship game on Jan. 24.

Peyton said he's learned from many players and quarterbacks, but he has followed three religiously.

"I went from Archie Manning to Dan Marino," Manning said. "Once Dan retired Eli was just starting to play college ball, so Eli Manning became my favorite player.

"My dad obviously has never really been one of my coaches, but he has been my role model -- always been the guy that I have gone to. ... My mother drove me to all my sporting events. She did her part and hugged me after every game. My parents have been great, my brothers have been great."