Two-time Super Bowl MVP and former quarterback for the New York Giants Eli Manning joined Cheddar News to talk about life after football and his new favorite hobby — pickleball.

Two-time Super Bowl MVP and former quarterback for the New York Giants Eli Manning joined Cheddar News to talk about life after football and his new favorite hobby — pickleball.&nbsp;

Wake Up With Cheddar

 Eli Manning Talks Celebrating Pickleball and Life After the NFL

today is a national Pickle day and to celebrate, I'm wearing green and I caught up with NFL legend and two time Super Bowl M. V. P. Eli manning. Eli taught me a few things about pickles including how to play pickleball, Take a look. Eli, we are here to celebrate National Pickle Day. Of course you're here in partnership with lace and Subway. What should we celebrate on National Pickle day? Well, I think it's just really great to partner with both Subway and lays and um and celebrate pickles and pickle ball and everything. Pickles and I think with national Pickle Day, which is monday and they have a sweepstakes going on that pickle ball is life and I think that's the idea, you know, a Subway, they have the new pickles and then you have the Lay's dill pickle chips and all of them coming together to be a part of that and come out and play a little pickle ball. It's just a, it's just a good day. I understand that you play pickleball yourself when I retired from football, I started playing a little tennis, started playing paddle and then I found pickleball on vacation with my wife, we started playing and now we're hooked and we're part of this, this wild pickleball craze is a matchup with tom brady Lebron gladly gladly accept that that match up if they want to play. So obviously yes, some of these guys are getting into pickleball ownership. I haven't gone to that extreme. I just I enjoy playing it being on the court and having some fun and kind of the social part of it well and Subway and after like a hard workout. I think it's a good, yeah. Get a Subway with pickles, get your lays, dill pickle chips and add that to your pre or postgame routine would be a good idea. And your brother, I've played Peyton and pickle ball. I won't tell you who won. I did. But you know, he doesn't play as much as me, but he's into it. What do we need to know about the pickleball court? You're telling me some of the tips here. Yeah. This little front part is called the kitchen and you're not allowed to go in that unless the ball goes in there, then you can step in. So it's kind of a finesse game. It's really about just kind of thinking it, trying to hit it into the kitchen because then you can't really hit a hard shot out of it. So it kind of makes it fun for everybody. Just a quarterback arm help with. I think it helps with like you can slam it some, you can help with that. Everything else. I don't think it really carries over too much. Are you good at pickleball? I think I'm okay. I'm not like going pro by any means, but I can, I can hold, I can hold my own. I've never played. So something tells me you would, you would probably be, um, let's talk about life after football. Obviously we're here to celebrate national Pickle Day, but you've got a whole bunch of new endeavors on your own plate. What has life been like post football? It's been fun and I think, you know, I kinda, I kinda put it in when you're, when I was a kid, I tried all these different sports and activities and music and whatever it might be to try to find your passion. I feel like when I retire from football, I got to start over again and I'm like trying all these different things to find out what I'm passionate about, what I love to do and it's been fun. You know, one of us being on the manning cast and doing it with my brother. So it kind of creates football family and us hanging out and taking shots at each other and just enjoying the experience. What's been the most rewarding part of the cast for you, I think just, you know, getting to hang out with my brother a little bit more even though we're not in person, we, we talk more during the week. I get to see him for a few hours on, on, on monday nights and kind of tell old stories and, and uh, kind of, you know, take some shots at him and I think we don't go every week where I think it's a good thing after three weeks in a row, I kind of need a little break from them, you know, so, uh, but we're a little tight, just a few weeks of time out and when I see you again, I'm excited to see you. Omaha Productions. Another thing obviously that you're involved with, what's next for that. Yeah and so that's you know that's kind of Peyton's baby but I've been involved with it, they helped produce you know the Eli Manning show or manning's places that I do with them and you know the monday night big and so some of the things with chad powers and whatnot. So having fun again just kind of diving into that world and being a part of that you think pickleball is like the next football is pickle ball the next, it's very popular and it's very popular. I don't know if it's, you don't see it on tv a ton, you can find it on tv but it is hard to hard to search for it and you don't know the exact times. I think football's I think football is safe for now. I think I think the numbers you're right and you're up there as well. Thank you so much. Thank you appreciate it. Oh Eli Manning was such a good sport in addition to being a new york Giants legend, spending his entire NFL career here in New york city, winning two super bowls, two Super Bowl M. V. P. Awards as well. He was just the nicest guy. So a big thanks to Eli for teaching me how to play pickleball and I hope you enjoyed the match and the interview.