(CBS4) – Former Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning appeared at the start of CBS’s broadcast of Super Bowl LIII Sunday in a pre-recorded skit that drew some laughs. Manning claimed in a boardroom meeting that he rented out the Colosseum in Rome for the “open” to the broadcast, and he brought in actor John Malkovich to get everyone pumped up for the big game.

The skit runs nearly 5 minutes long and is now available on CBS Sports’ YouTube page.

“Listen, Peyton, we brought you on as a consultant because we wanted your football expertise,” said a CBS “executive” in the skit who was obviously concerned about the gladiator theme Manning was pitching as the open.

“I don’t think this is going to work for us,” the exec said.

But, Manning said, the “wheels are already in motion. … We rented out the Colosseum for the actual shoot.”

“You rented out the L.A. Coliseum?” another exec asked.

“No, the Roman Colosseum,” Manning said.

The boardroom then got into a tizzy about how much money they have in the budget for such an open. And then a bearded and angry-looking Malkovich joined them via teleconference. From the actual Colosseum.

“What is this gladiator stuff?” Malkovich said from the Colosseum on his phone. “This is the most clichéd thing I’ve ever seen.”

Not liking Malkovich’s tone, or his bashing of some of Manning’s acting experience in commercials, Manning then hangs up on Malkovich. But Malkovich calls back and provides a rant about the glory of the biggest football game on the planet — and it actually works pretty well as the actual open for the actual Super Bowl.

You can see the entire skit below:

This is awesome. "Do you think he heard the chicken parm part?" https://t.co/WMo7uvRw57 — Tim Wieland (@CBS4Tim) February 3, 2019

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