(Jordan Strauss)
When former Ole Miss and Saints quarterback Archie Manning usually recalls playing in the 1968 Liberty Bowl, he just remembers the cold.
"That was the coldest game I've ever played in," Manning once told me of the 34-17 Rebels' victory over Virginia Tech. "We didn't think it was going to be that cold."
Sunday night at a banquet in his honor in Memphis, all past memories thawed and Manning's heart warmed when the AutoZone Liberty Bowl gave him its 45th annual Distinguished Citizen Award.
Manning, 67, has had countless honors in his lifetime, and the Liberty Bowl award ranks with the best of them.