Peyton Manning is a two-time Super Bowl champion and a Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback. That's all great, but nowadays you're more likely to see him on a commercial or casually analyzing NFL games with his brother, Eli.
He's also the author, so to speak, of a popular random exclamation you occasionally hear among a large group of football fans.
Here's how "Omaha!" came to be: "The word 'Omaha,' in the audible sense, was kind of underwhelming," Manning said Saturday night. "We were looking for a three-syllable, rhythmic word that meant we were changing the play. It was just a few seconds on the clock, and the offensive line has to get ready now."
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The Indianapolis Colts legend joined Pat McAfee's college football Saturday night broadcast. McAfee's show, modeled after Manning brothers' Monday night show, is brought to you by Omaha Productions, Manning's company.
The simple audible has grown far beyond anything Manning could have dreamed.
"All I can say is, I'm a big deal in Omaha, Nebraska, now," he said. "I got the key to the city. I got some steaks out of the deal."
Manning suggested other simple brand names could be worked into audibles across the NFL.
"I'm surprised more NFL teams aren't making their quarterbacks use a marketing term in their cadence," he said. "I can't believe (Cowboys owner) Jerry Jones hasn't jumped on this.
"That was Omaha. That was the reason, and the next thing you know, we start a company out of it."
