CMA Awards 2022: Country music nerd Peyton Manning makes his hosting debut Wednesday night

Peyton Manning, NFL legend and ... country music nerd?

Yes, it's a thing.

Wednesday night in Nashville, Manning co-hosts the 56th annual CMA Awards alongside returning emcee Luke Bryan. It marks the first time the Country Music Association tapped a professional athlete to host its annual shin-dig; the last time someone hosted the show who wasn't a country star? 1968, when actor and Roy Rogers' wife Dale Evans co-hosted with her husband (Manning, age 46, wouldn't be born until nearly eight years after this show).

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But a lack of CMA hosting experience doesn't mean Manning's a country music novice.

"He's an amazing quarterback and a great guy and a great fan of country music," Bryan told The Tennessean earlier this year. "It's gonna be fun being on stage with him."

Ahead of the show, let's dig into some of his history with Nashville's best-known export.

He's a big Eric Church guy

Manning's parents raised him on Elvis Presley and Beatles records, but in college at Tennessee, he began spinning another artist: George Strait. He discussed the origin of his country music fandom last year on Luke Combs' Bootleggers Radio show.

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"[I] got to see George in concert in Knoxville, he came and played Thompson Boling Arena," Manning said. "[I] got to meet him in, I want to call it, 1995. That was a real thrill and he and I’ve established a friendship since then. So couldn’t pick top 10 [songs] without putting a George Strait song, and ‘Amarillo by Morning’ is my favorite."

For his modern go-to, Manning spins another artist known for ripping hit after hit at arena-sized shows: Eric Church. Colorado Rockies first basemen Todd Helton introduced Manning to Church's tunes, he told Combs.

Manning appreciates the Chief's music as much off-stage work ethic, he said.

"I mean, to me, it’s the process, right?" Manning said. "You’re always hearing Nick Saban at Alabama talking about the process. ... It’s no different for you guys, all the work behind the scenes. He’s a grinder. He loves it. He loves everything about it. He’s great in concert, in person."

Hopping on stage

Manning's known to crash a few stages, like when he once joined Brett Eldredge in Denver, belted "Friends In Low Places" with Dierks Bentley earlier this year and surprised audiences watching Kenny Chesney — an East Tennessee native and longtime friend who performed at the former quarterback's wedding — inside Mile High Stadium last summer.

Just don't expect him to cut an album any time soon.

"He really likes country music. He likes to sing," Archie Manning, Peyton's father, once told the IndyStar. "(But) I don't think it's going to be a second career for him."

Manning the media star

Outside of his penchant for country tunes, Wednesday marks the latest move for Manning as a growing media personality. Since leaving the field, he launched Omaha Productions, a growing entertainment company responsible for the popular ESPN2 "Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli" broadcast. The company works in television programming, commercials and podcasting, among other ventures.

Regarding his growing media business, Manning told Axios earlier this year: "This is a second chapter for me. I never had a plan for what I wanted to do after I finished playing because I never had time to think about it. I was just thinking about football."

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: CMA Awards: Peyton Manning steps into hosting country music's big night