Peyton Manning's cry of 'Omaha' before snapping ball stirs Nebraska pride

[Deberg_1990]

http://www.nola.com/saints/index.ssf...f_omaha_b.html




OMAHA, Neb. -- Peyton Manning can't stop shouting about Nebraska's largest city.

The Denver Broncos quarterback used the word "Omaha" loudly and often during Sunday's playoff victory over the San Diego Chargers.

According to an NFL.com video montage, Manning barked "Omaha" before the ball was snapped 44 times during the game.

The reason for the word choice, if there is one, is known only to Manning and the Broncos.

But it provided some unexpected publicity for the city of 427,000, perhaps best known as the home of both billionaire Warren Buffett and the Fortune 500 insurance company Mutual of Omaha (sponsor of the old TV show "Wild Kingdom").

"I think it shows Peyton Manning really loves Omaha," Mayor Jean Stothert said Monday. "I'll personally take him on a tour. He has an official invitation now."

Omaha was a trending topic on Twitter during the game, and the Greater Omaha Convention and Visitors Bureau jumped aboard, tweeting: "We certainly appreciate all the love from Peyton Manning "

Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce President and CEO David Brown said he was watching the game, and he wondered how his agency could capitalize.

Brown said he wants to explore the possibility of hiring Manning, one of the sporting world's top pitchmen, to shoot a promotional ad for Omaha.

"We'd be foolish not to," Brown said, adding that he realizes Manning's fee probably would be prohibitive.

If anything, Omaha once conjured an image of a cow town on the banks of the Missouri River.

But Doug Parrott, executive vice president for the Nebraska-based Bailey Lauerman public relations and advertising firm, said that has changed over the years because of the prominence of Buffett and national media coverage of events such as the College World Series and U.S. Olympic Swim Trials.

Brown said the chamber of commerce has worked hard to woo corporations to locate to "the Big O," as locals call it.

Omaha is home to five Fortune 500 companies, including Union Pacific Railroad, and sells itself on, among other things, a reasonable cost of living and dependable workforce.

A chamber-commissioned study last year found that 100 million people had been exposed to the "Omaha message" in the past decade and that the city is generally viewed positively," Brown said.

"But when people are asked why they feel that way, they can't bring it to a single message," he said.

Quarterback Tom Brady of the New England Patriots has been known to say "Omaha" during games and so has Peyton's brother, New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning.

"Sally," ''Alpha," and "Kentucky" are among the many words that amount to gibberish to the typical fan, and sometimes they truly mean nothing.

But the words often are a signal to the rest of the offense to change a play or scheme -- and defenses sometimes try to crack the code.

It was apparent that the Chargers associated "Omaha" with Manning's snap count on Sunday because he lured five different San Diego players to jump offside, an unusually high number of penalties for the same infraction.

For the city of Omaha, the value of Manning's shout-outs is impossible to calculate, Parrott said.

Parrott noted, however, that air time for a 30-second Super Bowl ad is $4 million this year. If Manning leads the Broncos to the Super Bowl and yells "Omaha" as many times as he did Sunday, well, that's lots of free exposure.

"Commercials cost money to make, and you have to come up with the idea and hire a production company to make it. It could cost $4 million just for the production, and we get it for free," Parrott said.

"Everybody in Omaha really needs to root for Peyton to take down Tom Brady and the Patriots so we can hear 'Omaha' in the Super Bowl."

[KcMizzou]

Originally Posted by listopencil

Yes, it's for phonetic reasons.

Yeah, you might be able to pick that word out of all of the noise. If you were listening for it.

[listopencil]

Originally Posted by KcMizzou

Yeah, you might be able to pick that word out of all of the noise. If you were listening for it.

Occasionally it means an inside run. Occasionally it replaces "Hurry, hurry!" meaning that he is ready for the snap-so snap it when he stomps his foot. Occasionally it means flip the play. Occasionally it means hold your water because he's trying to get the D to jump, so pay attention to the snap count that he announced in the huddle. These things change not only every game but within games, and there are many of them.

[listopencil]

He really does have tendencies and does get burned on them every once in a while.

[007]

Thats funny because whenever I hear OMAHA I think of Matt Cassel.

"I think it shows Peyton Manning really loves Omaha," Mayor Jean Stothert said Monday. "I'll personally take him on a tour. He has an official invitation now."

[cosmo20002]

Originally Posted by listopencil

He really does have tendencies and does get burned on them every once in a while.

I remember earlier this season when the Donks played the Colts they asked Reggie Wayne if the Colts have an advantage because they know all Peyton's calls. He said that the ones that really mean anything he changes all the time. Other stuff is just thrown in as filler to cause confusion or run the clock. I've seen a lot of QBs do it, but no one as often and as long a Peyton does it.

I always think it's funny when he's been screaming for 20 seconds, the ball gets snapped, and he immediately throws a short screen for 2 yards. Quite a build-up for not much action.

[Discuss Thrower]

Originally Posted by cosmo20002

I always think it's funny when he's been screaming for 20 seconds, the ball gets snapped, and he immediately throws a short screen for 2 yards. Quite a build-up for not much action.

It's a process.

[007]

The people of Omaha obviously don't know that OMAHA is a pretty common thing for QBs these days. But OOOOOOOH Peyton said it. He must like us.

No offense to our CP residents of Omaha.

[nierika]

QBs should do audibles in Navajo

[Mr. Christopher]

Did anyone notice that when he used "Omaha," almost every time it was a single count snap? In fact, I think that's why he drew the Chargers offsides so many times. He lulled them into thinking it was a single count, and when they thought they'd get the jump on them, Manning changed it up and either delayed the count or he made it a two count snap.

I hate the Broncos, but watching Manning play is quite the experience.

[modocsot]

He audible'd "Rhode Island" in the game. And he threw to where RI is if it were on a map on the field; far corner of the end zone.

[InChiefsHeaven]

I heard about this on my way in to work this morning. Sheesh. Whatever I guess. I was yelling at my radio that Manning is NOT the only guy to say this, and it's not like he just said it this season or something. As someone else stated, hell, Cassel was famous for that shit.

But, it's a funny little thing I guess. It would be pretty epic if the city could somehow get him to scream Omaha Omaha! for a commercial or something, but it would cost an arm and a leg. All we got are a couple of cases of beer and a 78 Olds...not sure if he'd go for that.

[Eleazar]

When Cassel did it, it seemed like "hey defense, we're audible-ing to an inside run, so make sure you stuff us!"

[GloryDayz]

I still prefer "KILL, KILL, KILL"!!!!!! You'd think with this being "military appreciation year", they'd go with kill, kill, kill more often...

[Dayze]

Omaha is the way Manning lets the officials that he's going to pass.

[BlackHelicopters]

Seems like a snap count indicator most of the time.