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Before Peyton and Eli Manning became NFL quarterbacks, the brothers and eldest Cooper were two very different kids, their parents Archie and Olivia tell PEOPLE.
Archie, 76, recalled Cooper, 51, as the brother of Manning’s three boys who “always brought the humor.” “He was the oldest, of course, and he was always funny,” Archie says.
“And he was very difficult to train because he was such a funny guy,” agrees Olivia, 72, and her husband of 54 years.
Eli, 44, said he was “always grateful” that Coop was his oldest brother.
“Eli can’t do anything wrong,” Olivia jokes.
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Peyton, 49, on the other hand, was “definitely more serious,” her mother said. Archie agreed, saying, “I think Cooper taught Peyton how to relax,” adding that his eldest son was “pretty crazy” overall.
Without Peyton, the Munnings enjoyed their famous sharp wit and family dynamic in a new family ad promoting family subscriptions in The New York Times.
The Munnings filmed a promotional shoot in New Jersey, where Eli lives with his family, and Cooper ended up getting the brunt of Eli’s jokes.
“We had a lot of fun teasing Coop the whole time, and everyone pitched in and helped out,” Eli says.
“But whenever you shoot a commercial with your family, it’s always really fun because we can go back and forth and improve a little bit… and we can also tease each other a little bit. Nobody’s going to have any hard feelings and you know it’s all kind of fun and family fun,” the two-time Super Bowl champion added.
