Local Man Who “Totally Knew” Peyton Manning
Torn About Upcoming Superbowl

HURSTVILLE—Like most New Orleans residents, Ethan Walker Monroe III (a.k.a. “E-Walk”) is “stressing” over Super Bowl XLIV. But he’s stressing for a different reason than most, he told reporters outside of Fat Harry’s Bar Uptown.

Monroe III is unsure where his rooting interest should lie.

“Dude, I, like, totally knew Payton when we was back in high school,” said Mr. Monroe. “We’d hang here at Fat’s all the time on Thirsty Thursdays. And years before that, at 8 O’Clocks.”

“We were boys,” he added.

As a result, Monroe III, currently unemployed, says he is unsure whether he should be rooting for his hometown team or Manning’s Indianapolis club.

Monroe III describes a special bond between the two, and credits Manning as a major influence in his life.

“He totally got me to almost think about transferring to Newman and going out for football,” he said.

“We were boys,” he noted.

Asked if the two are still in regular contact, Mr. Monroe replied that he had “friended” Manning on a popular social networking website “a little while back,” but was still awaiting a reply.

“I’m sure he’s just busy,” Monroe said as he was putting his boat shoes back on and signing his tab to his father’s credit card. “He’ll write back.”

“We were boys,” he added.

Manning did not return calls for comment.