Arch Manning has made his college decision – he announced his commitment to the University of Texas yesterday via Twitter, with a “#HookEm” hashtag.
The news has sparked curiosity into all things Manning – who Arch’s siblings are, whether his father Cooper played football or not, and so on.
Cooper Archibald Manning is an American entrepreneur and Fox Sports TV personality, and the eldest son of former pro football QB Archie Manning.
But to some, as claimed by Bleacher Report, he is the “lost” Manning brother. What do we know about Cooper Manning’s mobility issues and spinal stenosis diagnosis? What happened to him when he was 18?
What happened to Cooper Manning that meant he couldn’t play pro football like his brothers?
In the early 1990s, Cooper Manning was diagnosed with spinal stenosis.
Mayo Clinic describes spinal stenosis as a “narrowing of the spaces within your spine”. Causes include bone overgrowth, herniated disks, thickened ligaments, tumours and spinal injuries.
Some people who have the condition don’t experience symptoms. But others may suffer pain, feel tingling and/or numbness in and around their spine, or experience muscle weakness.
It’s the leading diagnosis for adults over 65 undergoing spine surgery. In the US, it’s widely seen among the “geriatric population”, according to research.
How old was he when he received the diagnosis?
Cooper Manning was 18 when doctors diagnosed him with spinal stenosis – much younger than the average sufferer of the condition. But he started experiencing symptoms before that.
“Before his freshman season,” writes Bleacher Report, “Cooper began suffering from numbness in his hands and fingers, and had some ‘atrophy’ in his right bicep.”
Atrophy is when your tissue wastes away as a result of the degeneration of cells.
He reportedly flew with his father, Archie Manning, to the Mayo Clinic. After “extensive” testing, the clinic produced a diagnosis that would affect not only his life, but those of his brothers Eli and Peyton, too.
How did Cooper Manning react to what happened?
In 2013 TV movie The Book Of Manning, Cooper reflects on what happened to him at such a young age, and how it affected the trajectory of his and his brothers’ lives.
“I think what I miss most about football”, he says, “is the guys. It’s not winning or losing or catching touchdowns… it was like the locker room and bus rides home.”
His brother Peyton struggled to talk to him about it – not being able to play anymore. So he wrote him a letter.
“What it said”, Peyton says in the film, “was that, although he could not play anymore, he could live out his dream of playing through me.”
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How old is he now, and what does he do?
Born 6 March 1974, Cooper Manning is now 48. He married Ellen Heidingsfelder in 1999, five years after she was admitted to the Louisiana bar.
He has three children, including Arch – who just committed to Texas University – and is a Catholic.
Cooper hosts The Manning Hour on Fox Sports, and is a senior managing director of investor relations at AJ Capital Partners.
He previously worked for Scotia Howard Weil, an energy investment “boutique”. His net worth is $13 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
The post What happened to Cooper Manning? Condition explained as Arch commits to Texas appeared first on The Focus.
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