NFL icon sends handwritten letter to Pope Leo XIV — here's what he asked for
An NFL legend wrote a letter to Pope Leo XIV, hoping his holiness would grant him one request.
When Robert F. Prevost became pope in May, a hard-fought territorial battle was waged in the sports world over who could claim the Catholic leader as their own. In the end, it was determined that the papacy's fandom resides in baseball with the Chicago White Sox (not the Chicago Cubs).
This led to a tribute to the pope at the White Sox's Rate Field, followed by Mass with Leo XIV via video at the stadium in June.
All of this fanfare encouraged one retired athlete to think that maybe the pope is a football fan, too.
'It's you. It's Tiger Woods. It's Bradley Cooper. It's President Bush.'
Hall of Fame quarterback and two-time Super Bowl winner Peyton Manning revealed on Monday that he sent a handwritten note to both Pope Leo XIV and his executive assistant.
"Look at these two handwritten letters I wrote," Manning told his brother Eli on ESPN 2's "ManningCast."
"Handwritten. I made the effort," Manning comically continued, before explaining what his letter was all about.
He then looked into the camera and said, "These are handwritten letters, and if you're watching, your holiness, this is an open invitation."
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Manning was, hilariously, inviting Pope Leo XIV to come onto the ESPN 2 show where the brothers are joined by guests to swap football stories and analyze an NFL game from Monday Night Football.
"Come on the show anytime," Manning reiterated.
The former University of Tennessee star then disclosed that the pope was on a shortlist of his viewers' most-desired guests.
"It's you. It's Tiger Woods. It's Bradley Cooper. It's President Bush. It's Larry David," he rattled off. "Y'all are our most-wanted on that list for the 'ManningCast.' Come anytime."
"We'd love to have you, your holiness," Manning cordially concluded.
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Always one to self-deprecate, Manning said he failed in getting the pope on the show, "Kinda like I failed to recruit Randy Moss to Tennessee."
"I couldn't close the pope, but I made the effort Eli," he told his brother. "That's the kind of effort we make here at ESPN 2. I tried my hardest."
The same episode included iconic comedian and actor Bill Murray, though, along with Hall of Fame receiver Randy Moss and current Philadelphia Eagles star Saquon Barkley.
Maybe the "ManningCast" is not yet pope-worthy, but it is certainly delivering big stars to the program.
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The REAL reason Crimson died: Why Alabama’s problems go way deeper than Kalen DeBoer’s poor performance against Florida State
On Saturday, August 30, the Florida State Seminoles, who finished last season with a dismal 2-10 record, pulled off a shocking victory against No. 8 Alabama Crimson Tide. The underdogs dominated with a revamped offense led by new quarterback Tommy Castellanos, who accounted for 230 total yards and a touchdown, and a defense that stifled Alabama’s running game, limiting the team to 74 rushing yards.
The Seminoles’ triumph sent shock waves through college football, marking a stunning start to the season.
Furious Alabama fans are venting over head coach Kalen DeBoer’s performance, with some speculating about raising nearly $70 million to cover the buyout of his $87 million contract. Amid this unrest, rumors have swirled about legendary former coach Nick Saban returning to the sidelines or former NFL coach Jon Gruden being considered as a replacement.
“Kalen DeBoer may need to go. Nick Saban probably would be an upgrade. ... Josh Gruden would be a significant upgrade and an incredible story,” Jason Whitlock agrees.
But Alabama’s woes go way deeper than a “coaching problem,” he says.
The Crimson Tide’s biggest issue is something mainstream media would never dare address: Its obsession with LGBTQ+ activism overshadows winning football games.
“The BLM LGBTQIA+ silent P alphabet mafia is ruining sports,” Jason says.
Wide receiver Ryan Williams, the Tide’s best player, he says, is an “alphabet soldier” who’s driving the culture at Alabama.
Not only does Williams regularly don painted fingernails, but he entered the Seminoles’ Doak Campbell Stadium on Saturday carrying a stuffed T. rex, which is some kind of “anxiety doll.”
“And you’re wondering why the team is soft,” Jason scoffs.
“When your sexual identity and your desire to show off your feminine side, your womanly side, your alternative lifestyle side becomes the agenda, you got a problem that will affect the entire locker room,” he says.
“The head coach has to walk around on eggshells. He can’t talk the way that he used to talk because the best player might be offended.”
“Feminine energy doesn’t win football games. ... Toxic masculinity and energy — that’s what wins football games,” he says.
As long as Alabama allows its “soft” culture to fester, its football will be subpar, he argues.
To hear more of his commentary, watch the video above.
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Jesus Christ Takes Center Stage During College Football’s 2025 Opening Weekend
College football made its triumphant return to television screens across America this past weekend — and it did not disappoint. Whether it was Lee Corso’s final College GameDay mascot head selection or the down-to-the-wire thriller between Notre Dame and Miami, the 2025 season debut was everything fans were hoping for and more. But amid this […]Western Michigan sparks controversy with Arabic jersey during NCAA college football kickoff
A Western Michigan player's jersey is grabbing the attention of fans instead of his play after the college football kickoff last weekend.
A rivalry game between Michigan State University and Western Michigan University saw the Spartans win 23-6 at home, but one Broncos player stood out among the crowd in the losing effort.
'This is still America right.'
Along with wearing the somewhat unique No. 0, it was not Mustafi Al-Garawi's two tackles that viewers took note of, but rather that the nameplate on his jersey was written in Arabic.
An East Tennessee State transfer, the senior defensive tackle submitted a request to Western Michigan in the summer asking if he could play his final season with Arabic writing on the back of his jersey.
According to Detroit News, Al-Garawi was born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, after his father was granted U.S. citizenship for rebelling against his own country (Iraq) during Saddam Hussein's rule. Rashid Al-Garawi allegedly assisted U.S. forces in the Second Gulf War.
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Western Michigan head coach Lance Taylor and school officials approved the Arabic writing, seemingly following an NCAA rule that allows players to "celebrate or memorialize people, events or other causes, subject to school and/or conference approval," according to CBS Sports in 2020.
The messages can vary from player to player.
After a college football fan page with 150,000 followers posted an image of Al-Garawi's jersey, it was met with mostly negative reactions from fans.
"That's awful," one Texan wrote on X.
"Why is that cool. This is America. Nobody can read it," another user said.
"This is still America right," another fan replied.
At least a half-dozen X users called for Al-Garawi's deportation, while some other fans even called the writing "gay."
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While this may be the first time a player name has been written in Arabic in an NCAA football game, there have already been two players who have had their names written in Chinese.
First, Arizona State University's He Peizhang, aka Jackson He, had his name written in Chinese in 2020. He came to the U.S. from Guangdong, China, at 17 years old, according to South China Morning Post.
In 2025, Charles Du of Notre Dame grabbed headlines and social media attention when he had his name written in Chinese during the Sugar Bowl on January 2.
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The promised return has come, dazzling as ever, right on schedule
What a lovely Labor Day weekend that was. As a new week begins, I find myself reflecting over all that happened these past three days. I must say what’s on my heart.
When you left last January, you assured me you would come back. I remember that moment like it was yesterday — your abrupt departure in the wee hours of a Tuesday morning.
Some of you for a time is better than none of you at all. I’ve come to accept this.
Seven months will go by “just like that,” you coyly suggested. That’s how I remember it, as the room went dark immediately upon your absence. Why must you do this to me?
I tried to wait for you, and by and large, I was successful. The truth is that but for a brief fling of madness in March, there’s been an unmistakable “you-shaped” hole in my life.
I never want to feel this emptiness again, yet something tells me that before long, it will happen again. Looking back, it’s the Saturdays without you that were the hardest.
I needn’t remind you that we spent that entire day together, you and I, from early morning to well past midnight. Other friends came and went, but I never took my eyes off you.
Those were happy times, with homemade soup on the stove, a fire on the hearth, and you, even more radiant than the turning colors outside, the center of my undivided attention.
I realize a bird of your beguiling plumage is meant to be free, and I’ve no right to keep you all to myself. But keep you I shall for the blissful time we’ve been given to spend together. When I’m not gazing lovingly at you, know this: I will be thinking of you.
Oh, the places we’ll go now that you’re back! Athens will be special this fall, rich in history and tradition as it is; Oxford, too. I suspect we’ll make memories together in many other places as well. Come January, you’re sure to bowl me over with some surprises of your own.
Speaking of that cruelest of months when, as if on a predetermined schedule, you flee, I shall try not to grow sullen. I’ll pursue other interests to take my lovesick mind off you. But it won’t be the same, for there is only one you. Nothing even comes close.
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I know I’m not the only man who longs for you. I’m not even the only man on my cul-de-sac who longs for you. But you were crystal clear about this arrangement from the very beginning. I’m not the first, and I won’t be the last. Some of you for a time is better than none of you at all. I’ve come to accept this.
You know something? That’s enough pining by me. It’s all water under the bridge now. What matters most is that you have once again returned, as promised.
Absence has made the heart grow fonder. We are together again, my beloved, and for the next five months I’ll have eyes for nobody — and I mean nobody — except you.
Oh, how I have missed you, college football.
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