National Football League

Peyton Manning meets with mom whose post-Super Bowl blog went viral

Published Sep. 15, 2014 4:02 p.m. ET

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Peyton Manning made time for a few special Broncos fans on Saturday evening, the night before the Broncos played a home game against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Laurie Lattimore Volkmann is the mom whose February blog post went viral. In the post, she penned an open letter to Manning for being a good role model. She hailed the popular quarterback as a person her children can admire after Denver's lopsided Super Bowl loss and scolded critics who thought Manning and the Broncos should've been embarrassed after the loss to Seattle.

Lattimore Volkmann and her husband, Mark, and two sons visited Manning at the Broncos' team hotel Saturday.

The blog was never discussed, but Lattimore Volkmann, a journalism professor at the College of Charleston in South Carolina, was thrilled with the surprise visit -- as were her sons, 7-year-old Calvin and 4-year-old Tanner.

"He literally looked like a college kid with jeans and a sweater and a JanSport backpack on his shoulder bulging with stuff," Lattimore Volkmann said. "Mostly what I said to him was how happy I was he took the time to meet us. I think it's a big deal.

"Even though it's 10 minutes, it's an important time getting ready before a game. To make that extra time was amazing and speaks to everything he's about."

He also gave a mini-throwing lesson to Calvin, who asked Manning whether he should throw the ball from up higher or lower, because he'd heard different ways.

"I like it up here better," Lattimore Volkmann said Manning told her son, then showed him with an arm motion. 

She said her son, who hasn't started playing organized football yet, agrees that's a good way to throw the ball.

He's ready for his first-grade show-and-tell, too.

Lattimore Volkmann, 44, and her family didn't know they would meet Manning until she checked her voicemail Saturday after they'd flown into Denver from South Carolina. She started to get the ball rolling to see whether a visit was possible only recently.

"Basically because of the blog I wrote, I made all kinds of new Broncos friends, and some of them have connections," said Lattimore Volkmann, a Colorado native and Broncos fan. "One was able to find me a good way to get a letter to Peyton. My son Calvin sent him a letter, too. I had no delusions that we would hear from Peyton or that he would ever see the letter, but because of all the hype over the blog I wrote and my son Calvin was excited about going to a game, I thought I was just going to try to see if there was a way these two boys could meet him."

In her blog that garnered so much attention, Lattimore Volkmann wrote: "I doubt you take stock in what those analysts say about your legacy (no doubt a trait your father has clearly bestowed upon you and your brothers), but I want you to know that this mom of two young boys who already recognize you're different from the others, believes your legacy has never been stronger."

Lattimore Volkmann said she and her family also were on the field before the game as four of the people who open the American flag on the field. 

After her meeting with Manning, she wrote on her Facebook page: "Airfare to Denver (x4): $1600, Hotel x2 nights: $400, Denver Broncos tix: $500, Meeting Peyton Manning? ARE YOU FREAKIN KIDDING? All kinds of awesome."

Lattimore Volkmann said Manning signed a football and all of the No. 18 jerseys they were wearing -- and took pictures. 

It's been a bleak couple of weeks for the NFL. Former Ravens running back Ray Rice is on indefinite suspension for punching his now-wife in a video that was seen publicly; Adrian Peterson was arrested on charges of child injury; and Greg Hardy was deactivated in another domestic violence case.

This meet-and-greet will surely be good fodder for Lattimore Volkmann's next post. She never asked whether Manning read the first one. 

"It seems odd to say, 'Hey, did you read my blog?' So I didn't," Lattimore Volkmann said. "I'm sure he did read it. The fact he was there is probably a sign he appreciated it. I'm just going to leave it at that."

And cherish the memories of a visit with their favorite player. 

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