Peyton Manning Didn't Even Tell His Own Teammates About Twins

by Brad Wells on May 10, 2011 1:54 PM EDT in 2011 Colts News

Peyton Manning has made his career out of making the impossible possible. Some of the greatest fourth quarter comebacks in the history of this game are a direct result of his play from the quarterback position. But, one could argue that the biggest feat he has ever accomplished had nothing to do with anything on a football field.His greatest accomplishment might be the near media blackout he has successfully cultivated around his personal life.

Our blog helped break the news back on April 8th that Peyton and his wife, Ashley, had welcomed into this world twins: A boy and a girl named Marshall and Mosely, respectively.

Now, when news of their births first hit the Internet, it happened at around April 1st. Thus, most of us thought the rantings of a view Tennessee Volunteers fans on a message board was just another April Fool's joke. Turned out it wasn't.

What is amazing about this news is that literally NO ONE KNEW ASHLEY MANNING WAS PREGNANT! Here is arguably the most famous quarterback in the world, a man whose face time in commercials rivals William Shatner, and no one knew he and his wife were expecting twins. How is that possible to keep a secret in today's world of MEDIA EVERYWHERE!

Did no one SEE Ashely Manning the last ten months? Didn't Peyton tell his teammates he was gonna become a daddy?

I can't answer for the first question, but I do have information that answers the second. No, Peyton didn't tell his teammates. They were just as shocked as we were when the news broke.

Today on the 1070 The Fan radio show 'Grady and Big Joe,' featuring former Colts offensive linemen Joe Stasniak and radio personality Michael Grady, Colts players Charlie Johnson and Pierre Garcon were interviewed. Both were asked if they'd seen Peyton's twins, and if they were surprised by the news of the births.

Just like us, Charlie Johnson (the man who has protected Peyton's blindside for two-plus years, and played in two Super Bowls with Peyton) was just as dumbstruck by the news as anyone else.

I actually it was a joke. I read it on, or I saw something on the Internet. And then I'm getting texts from friends back home. And I just thought it was a joke, but it ended up being real!

I'll be the egotistic schmuck that I am and say Charlie probably saw that 'something' here at Stampede Blue (Hi Charlie!).

Equally surprised by the news of the twins was Pierre Garcon, a guy who (according to Pierre) has been working out with Peyton all through this offseason during the lockout. When asked if he was shocked by the news of the twins, he laughed and said:

Yeah, I was.

Garcon also went on to say the wideouts like Austin Collie, Anthony Gonzalez, and Blair White were working out with Peyton as recently as this morning. He also said they were all back and healthy after dealing with multiple injuries last season:

Oh yeah. Everybody's back. Everybody's back. Dallas is back. Austin, Gonzo.

Nice to hear Dallas Clark is healthy after his freakish hand injury last year.

You can listen to the podcasts from 1070 The Fan here.

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Actually...

for me it is nice to hear Austin Collie is back after the serious head trauma he had last year. Glad all guys are back…but Austin is the one I was most worried about.

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by TRDean on May 10, 2011 2:06 PM EDT reply actions

we will see

that guy is a lber away from being a greeter at wal mart

by omahacolt on May 10, 2011 9:17 PM EDT up reply actions

In the current era of evermore intrusive media..

I think keeping such a thing quiet should be lauded. Fair play to the man.

Antoine Bethea - the most underrated safety in the NFL.

by Ben Savage on May 10, 2011 2:09 PM EDT reply actions

I actually agree

SB Nation's Indianapolis Colts blogger at Stampede Blue and editor of SB Nation Indiana.

by Brad Wells on May 10, 2011 2:31 PM EDT up reply actions

is it possible they had a surrogate??

I’ve never seen Ashley but i cant imagine she just hid in their house for 9 months…SOMEONE mustve noticed she was pregnant! Unless they had a surrogate, which would explain a lot. Just a thought…

by bigpony on May 10, 2011 2:19 PM EDT reply actions

It´s possible!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Peyton has his personal life out of the media and I think as he is the best QB he is the best on hiding things
Good for him and his family

by Violeta C on May 10, 2011 3:13 PM EDT reply actions

I've heard of this before

I read an interview with Johnny Depp in which he said that if a celebrity really wants to stay out of the public eye they can do so for a cost. Of course he lives in France to keep away from TMZ but no matter… There are people who make a living keeping the press out of the private lives of those who don’t want it around. Maybe Peyton throws a 100k or so a year to for this type of service. Can’t say I blame him if he did.

by isaac88 on May 10, 2011 3:43 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs

William's Creek has their own police service

So I wonder if they are trained to keep media out of that particular area because it included athletes and those with substantial bank accounts.

"Are you f*cking kidding me???"

by danorocks17 on May 10, 2011 10:21 PM EDT up reply actions

Honestly, I wouldn’t know what Ashley Manning looks like if she knocked on my door right now.

I’d imagine most Colts fans are in the same boat. The Mannings are notoriously private. I wouldn’t be even the least bit surprised that no one knew.

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by MonkeyBusiness on May 10, 2011 5:21 PM EDT reply actions

The strange thing is

Even since they were born no one talks about them. No mention on nfl.com, espn, Schefter, Colts front office…..

by Ty46 on May 10, 2011 5:35 PM EDT reply actions

why would they talk about it?

as a fan, it is nice to know he had kids, but beyond that I really don’t need to know the details of his family life.

Many famous athletes have kids and no one talks about it really.

I am more surprised that none of the colts players he works with on a daily basis didn’t know, but some people are just very private.

An expert is someone who knows more and more about less and less until they know everything about nothing...

by bluegirl on May 10, 2011 6:13 PM EDT up reply actions

i think you're referring to all the coverage Brady's kids got...

but that was because the mothers were just as famous as him. We arent going to hear about the Manning kids until Marshal is breaking state high school football records!!

by bigpony on May 10, 2011 8:05 PM EDT up reply actions

Ashley Manning is known for being extremely private

and I don’t remember seeing her at any games this year (I could be wrong) on TV.

That said, is it possible it was an adoption? The real mother had the child and was immediately giving it over to the Manning family? It’s just a guess, but could explain why no one knew Ashley was pregnant.

In other news, great to hear that Gonzo, Collie, Clark are all healthy and practicing again, and that those guys are practicing together. Also, it looks like Peyton is really committed to staying in Indy if he’s meeting up with those guys and practiciing.

EVH+DLR=BFFs........ God I Hope So!!

by dmstorm22 on May 10, 2011 6:23 PM EDT reply actions

I don't think it was an adoption because the birth was announced by the Marion County Health Department

"Are you f*cking kidding me???"

by danorocks17 on May 10, 2011 10:22 PM EDT up reply actions

It's just a theory

My theory was that it was (I don’t know the term) an adoption where the mother gives up rights right after the baby is born, a planned adoption. So the birth is still an issue. I don’t know how that would be reported.

It’s probably not right, but does explain why Ashley was never seen pregnant.

EVH+DLR=BFFs........ God I Hope So!!

by dmstorm22 on May 10, 2011 11:17 PM EDT up reply actions

oh i see what you mean

if it were predetermined to be an adoption type thing. In that case i’m not sure if it would have been reported like that or not.

"Are you f*cking kidding me???"

by danorocks17 on May 10, 2011 11:36 PM EDT up reply actions

You have a hypothesis not a theory.

A theory is a hypothesis that has been continually and repeatedly tested and has withstood that testing. Dano tested your theory with the fact that the birth was announced by the hospital which basically kills your hypothesis. It couldn’t withstand one test let alone repeated tests. Not only is it a hypothesis but a negated hypothesis as well.

Yes, I’m being pedantic, but I’m sick of people stating hypothesis = theory = unproven guess.

by ActionOxford on May 10, 2011 11:55 PM EDT up reply actions

It's being applied in a non-technical way,

so dmstorm22 used the word “theory” correctly here.

Keep the faith!

by Marima on May 11, 2011 1:06 PM EDT up reply actions

Pats fan sticking up for a Colts fan on SB??

Man, I guess this is what happens during a lockout

EVH+DLR=BFFs........ God I Hope So!!

by dmstorm22 on May 12, 2011 3:00 AM EDT up reply actions

The best news in this post is the news on all the bodies working out with Manning

All this “downtime” is definitely and advantage to the colts because of Peyton’s leadership

"Are you f*cking kidding me???"

by danorocks17 on May 10, 2011 10:23 PM EDT reply actions

Well, he is the master of the Play Action Fake, so it comes as no surprise to me they kept their pregnancy a secret.

by braveheartcolt on May 10, 2011 11:36 PM EDT via mobile reply actions

You mean

that soon we’ll find out that the birth announcement was a misdirection and really the twins are graduating from college?

That’d be cool.

by ActionOxford on May 10, 2011 11:56 PM EDT up reply actions

that would be shocking

by Phillycolt on May 11, 2011 10:57 AM EDT up reply actions

Anyone else feel like the bigger news is that Garcon and the other Wideouts are working with Peyton?

This caught my eye more than the teammate surprise at the twins.

Thug Life. It's a Pacers thing, you wouldn't get it.

by infinityzero.systemerror on May 11, 2011 2:45 AM EDT reply actions

i posted that above, and yes I agree

sounds like we are in the same club

"Are you f*cking kidding me???"

by danorocks17 on May 11, 2011 7:22 AM EDT up reply actions

I don't see why it's so shocking.

Most women could easily hide a pregnancy for 3-5 months so she probably had to lay low for maybe 5-6 months. And I’m pretty sure they had somebody to do ANY AND EVERYTHING for her until it was time for her to have the babies and be taken to the hospital.

by kferguson2002 on May 11, 2011 4:44 PM EDT via mobile reply actions