As the Late Show with David Letterman wrapped up its final show concluding a 22-year run garnering plenty of farewells from admirers, showbusiness and comedy stars gave their sendoff in Letterman's iconic Top-10 List countdown.
And, naturally, Peyton Manning—the only sports star invited to appear on the finale—was part of that exclusive group that included Bill Murray, Jerry Seinfeld, Barbara Walters and more who read the list of 'Things I've always wanted to say to Dave'.
Manning's history on The Late Show goes back to 1997 when he was a senior finishing college at Tennessee, and he's had three other appearances since then and other than the finale.
Following the finale, Manning wrote a column about the experience for Sports Illustrated's MMQB site, calling the experience "something I'll never, ever forget."
Manning's love for comedy is pretty well known, shown by his appearances not only on The Late Show, but also on Saturday Night Live and The Simpsons.
Manning also wrote about how he has always felt a tie to Letterman ever since he started his NFL career in Letterman's hometown of Indianapolis.
Dave has an appreciation for anyone who has done things to help his hometown. During my appearance on the show last year, it really meant a lot that he thanked me for some of the things that I had done as a Hoosier over the years, on and off the field.
Years later, once Manning had moved to Broncos country and started getting acclimated in Denver, Letterman was preparing to welcome Indianapolis' new star quarterback to his show, but he wanted to get Manning's OK on it, though Manning told him that was completely unnecessary.
Ultimately, even with his enthusiasm and love for comedy, it wasn't just Letterman's comedic chops that endeared him to Manning.
