The honor is part of a 14-page tribute to the athletes, coaches and teams of the 2000s in the new issue of the magazine, which arrives this week at all Barnes & Noble, Borders and Hudson Retail outlets. SN honored one athlete in each sport and enlisted the help of teammates, coaches and legends to make a case for both the winner and runner-up.

Said former Colts coach Tony Dungy of Manning: “The best example (of Manning’s preparation) is when we had two weeks between the AFC championship game and Super Bowl 41. He watched all 16 regular-season games the Bears played and their two playoff games. He had (backup quarterback) Jim Sorgi watch their four preseason games, just in case they did something in the preseason they didn’t show in the regular season, and report back to him. So he basically had 22 games of theirs that he watched in two weeks so that there would be no defense he was going to see that took him by surprise. That’s extreme, and that’s for a Super Bowl, but that’s how he goes about everything.”

Manning was SN’s Player-of-the-Year three times this decade, winning in 2003, 2004 and 2008.

His pick for his favorite moment of the decade? “We made Indy a football city,” Manning told SN. “The Super Bowl was the culmination of that, and I hope we’re not done with that. But over the decade, it’s been something special being a part of that. When I first got here we sold out the first game (against Miami), but I think the fact Dan Marino was playing had a lot to do with that. Now, you’ve got a waiting list for season tickets, and many of the quarterbacks that I’ve talked to—whether it’s Tom Brady or Drew Brees or Donovan McNabb—tell me this is the loudest place they’ve played. That in itself is a powerful statement. And just look at the jerseys (in the stands). Everybody’s got numbers now, and they’re ours. People are talking about the Colts all the time.”

Manning also made SN’s NFL All-Decade Team, listed below:

OFFENSE
WR Marvin Harrison
WR Randy Moss
T Walter Jones
G Alan Faneca
C Jeff Saturday
G Steve Hutchinson
T Jonathan Ogden
TE Tony Gonzalez
QB Peyton Manning
FB Lorenzo Neal
RB LaDainian Tomlinson

DEFENSE
DE Michael Strahan
DT Richard Seymour
DT Casey Hampton
DE Jason Taylor
OLB Derrick Brooks
MLB Ray Lewis
OLB Joey Porter
CB Champ Bailey
CB Ronde Barber
S Brian Dawkins
S Ed Reed

SPECIALISTS
K Adam Vinatieri
P Shane Lechler
KR Dante Hall
PR Devin Hester