Twitter Has Mixed Feelings About Peyton Manning Co-Hosting The 2022 CMAs
The 2022 CMAs kicked off on November 9 on ABC. Country music veteran Luke Bryan returned as host for the second year in a row. Only this time, the singer teamed up with football legend Peyton Manning to host the event. When this year's hosting duo was revealed back in August, both men expressed their excitement about this opportunity.
"Being a part of such a historical night that honors my peers and Country Music is such a privilege," Bryan shared (via ET). "When I was asked if Peyton Manning is someone I would consider co-hosting with, I didn't hesitate," he continued, adding, "We have become great friends through the years, and what he brings to the table is gonna make it even more of a blast." For Manning's part, he couldn't "wait to head to Nashville and take the CMA Awards stage" because he was "such a huge fan of Country Music."
However, Bryant shared a slightly different take about sharing the stage with Manning during a recent promo stint for ABC. "I got to do this by myself last year, and obviously, I didn't do a good enough job, so we had to go to the big guy here," Bryan said. And while it's clear that Bryant was joking, now that the CMAs have kicked off, and he and Manning have had time to work the crowd with unique brand of charm, Twitter's mixed reaction about Manning's hosting skills leads one to ponder if Bryant should've hosted alone.
Twitter has a love/hate relationship with Peyton Manning's hosting skills
The CMAs kicked off with a heart wrenching musical tribute led by Carrie Underwood to the late Loretta Lynn, who tragically died in October. And while the performance induced a wave of emotions, Luke Bryant and Peyton Manning then swooped in to lift the energy in the room. During Peyton and Bryant's opening, Manning called the CMAs the "Super Bowl of country music," while Bryant listed off the "parallels between football and this year's nominees."
The duo also ribbed off of each other, such as the moment when Manning said that "Carrie Underwood and I have a lot in common. We've both worked with Brad Paisley; we've both been on 'Sunday Night Football' a lot, and we're both very nervous about what Luke Bryant will say tonight." Manning also set Bryant up for the ultimate punchline, sharing that he was "such a big fan of Luke," but then clarified that he meant Luke Holmes.
Despite their efforts, Twitter just doesn't know how to take Peyton Manning as a host. "Peyton Manning reads the teleprompter the same way the Olsen twins did on Full House," tweeted one Twitter netizen. Then, one user simply pondered: "Why is Peyton manning hosting the CMAs?" Not everyone was against Manning's presence, however. "You've got to hand to Peyton Manning, he's always done a great job hosting special events," shared one user. Another echoed the sentiment, writing, "The team we didn't know we needed [...] Peyton Manning and Luke Bryan."