Whenever an athlete is asked to host "Saturday Night Live," we end up getting one of two things out of the episode: It's either hilarious or it's 90 minutes of total awkwardness. 

Back in 2007, Peyton Manning hosted the show and his performance definitely falls in the first category. Although Manning produced several memorable skits, the one remembered by most people is a fake United Way commercial where Manning is asked to throw footballs as hard as he can at a bunch of children. 

Although the skit ended up being hilarious, it almost never happened. During an interview at the Colts' kickoff luncheon on Wednesday, Manning gave some inside details on the skit and explained why he almost didn't take part in it. 

"These kids were all child actors, their parents were out there watching the whole time, and it was all very awkward and uncomfortable," Manning said, via the Colts official Twitter. "And I finally told the director, 'I can't do it, I can't do it. I'll go up to the edge, this feels over the edge. I'm not comfortable.' And he said, 'No problem we don't have to do it, we don't want you to do anything out of your comfort zone.'"

As it turned out, Manning had to be egged on by a parent before he agreed to do the skit. 

"And right then, I can not make this up, one of the parents of the child actors runs out onto the set and tells the director, 'I want him to hit my kid in the face,'" Manning said. "And I said, 'I will do it. I will knock your kid out.'"

After agreeing to take part in the skit, the only thing Manning was worried about was how his mom would feel after watching it.  

"I remember the director said, 'Peyton, you're a charitable guy, this is a spoof of United Way, that's why it's going to be funny, but it's only going to work if you're all in. You have to whack these kids right in the head,'" Manning recounted. "And I kept saying, 'My mother is going to be so disappointed when she sees this.'"

One other secret Manning spilled is that he didn't use normal footballs in the skit: He was nailing the kids with Nerf footballs. 

All of this will probably make a lot more sense after you watch the skit, which you can see below.