If there’s one thing that never gets old, it’s hearing classic Peyton Manning stories from his time at Tennessee. 

One story that’s been circulating for years resurfaced this week when Voice of the Titans Taylor Zazour appeared as a guest on the We Need a Fourth podcast, which is co-hosted by Peyton’s older brother Cooper Manning.

Apparently, the night before some home games in Knoxville, Cooper would sometimes be out on the town having drinks with Tennessee students. Many of those students would mistake him for Peyton and couldn’t believe he was out drinking the night before a game.

When confronted about it, Cooper would typically respond: “It’s not a big deal. It’s just Vanderbilt.”

According to Zarzour, it’s one of Peyton’s favorite stories to tell. 

“I’m sure you’ve heard Coop say before how he acted as if he was Peyton back in Peyton’s Knoxville days,” said Zarzour to show co-host Kenny Mayne. “The night before the game, he would go drinking with all of the UT students, and they would say, ‘Oh my gosh, Peyton Manning!’ And he’d go, ‘Yeah, let’s go out,’ and they would say, ‘Well, don’t you have a game tomorrow?’ And he would say, ‘Ah, it’s just Vanderbilt.’

“And so Peyton is telling that story for the 5,000th time on the balcony where I’m doing this broadcast, and I’m poking Peyton, and Peyton’s like, ‘Not now, Taylor, not now.’ … Finally he’s like, ‘What is it?’ And I was like, ‘He’s (Cooper) doing it right now at a bar underneath us while wearing a bathrobe.’ People are saying, ‘Hey, is that Peyton Manning tending bar?’ And he’s like, ‘Yeah, man, what will you have?’”

Peyton also told a version of the story three years ago at an event, per the Toledo Blade. Except in Peyton’s version, the opponent that time was Kentucky (in those days, though, Kentucky and Vanderbilt both usually met the same fate when playing Tennessee).

From The Toledo Blade: The night before the game, as Peyton was asleep in the team hotel, Cooper — a dead ringer for his younger brother — was out living it up at the Knoxville bars.

A Volunteers fan was not amused.

“[He] comes up to him and says, ‘Peyton, what in the world are you doing out? It’s midnight and we’ve got a game tomorrow!’” Peyton said. “Cooper took a little swig, puffed on the cigar, and said, ‘Relax, we’re just playing Kentucky.’”

I’m sure there are still a few former Tennessee students from the mid-’90s who thought they had drinks with Peyton the night before an SEC game.