NFL Hall of Fame and former New Orleans Saints quarterback Archie Manning joined WWL Radio's Scoot to share his Mardi memories.
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Manning who played 11 seasons with the Saints said that his first few years in New Orleans he and his wife didn't fully dive into Mardi Gras.
"Before we had children, we lived out in Metairie," Manning said. "We may have gone to a parade or so basically, I think, in those days we got out of town. We'd go back to Mississippi because I didn't really understand it.
I didn't understand Mardi Gras, what it was."
Manning said that changed when his children Cooper, Peyton and Eli came along. Manning said the family moved to Uptown New Orleans and lived near the paraded routes.
He recalled putting Cooper and Peyton in a ladder.
"They wanted me to get up the stairs and be behind them because I was a quarterback on Saints at the time and the parade, the floats go by and the guys, some of them have a cocktail or two on those floats, and some of them at times would recognize me and start unloading beads and spears and what have you.
"(They'd) get a little carried away. I can remember just how many times Cooper and Peyton would get hit in the face with beads that came in there little too hard and I'm trying to catch stuff but trying to protect them.
It was fun for them, though."
Watch the full interview below.