Queen’s dinner has a football bent

The queen may be the queen, but football will be king during tonight’s White House State Dinner in honor of Her Majesty — and it is American football, not soccer.

{mosads}Most notably, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is bringing Gene Washington, the National Football League’s (NFL) director of football operations, to the white-tie affair.

Also in attendance, according to the official guest list, will be Indianapolis Colts star quarterback Peyton Manning, who led his team to a Super Bowl win this year.

But Manning won’t be the only NFL quarterback at the event. Tim Hasselbeck, a backup for the New York Giants, also scored an invite. He will attend with his wife, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, who is a co-host of a daytime talk show.

Just in case the two decide to start a friendly game to entertain Queen Elizabeth II, the White House also invited CBS sportscaster Jim Nantz to the dinner.