Peyton Manning says he really DIDN'T really want to fire footballs at kids' faces during his famous 2007 "Saturday Night Live" skit -- but changed his mind when a parent begged him to peg his kid.
The sketch is pretty famous -- Peyton was spoofing his United Way ads by teaching kids how to get tattoos, steal cars and play real, hardcore park football.
But a key part of the skit featured Peyton nailing kids in the face with footballs -- HARD -- and the QB says he was so nervous about tagging the youngsters, he almost quit the bit.