Players Tribute: Eli Manning: A fan shares his thoughts on his favorite retired quarterback.

Eli Manning, the former New York Giant, and two-time Super Bowl champion and MVP, is hosting the “Manningcast” with his older brother Peyton. Eli was a staple of the NFL during his career and was the main reason I ever watched the New York Giants. 

For sixteen seasons, Eli Manning was a New York Giant. He showed up and never missed a snap until 2017, something that will be touched upon later. Let’s face it; He was never the best quarterback in the NFL. Throwing game-losing interceptions, took sacks, overthrew receivers, and gave us meme-worthy faces after said moments. 

Despite all of this, he also gave New York Giants fans two Super Bowl victories. First was the “Helmet Catch,”. The second Super Bowl victory also came against the Patriots, and the sideline throw to Mario Manningham is one of the most fabulous throws in NFL history. 

The day Eli Manning was benched for Geno Smith was on that led to many tears. Indeed, other Giants fans felt the same way. Manning never complained; he never played the blame game and threw his slacking teammates under the bus even though he had every right to criticize. It sounds cliché, but Manning was truly the face of the New York Giants. So now, we are left with Daniel Jones, who is like a clone of Manning in terms of dialect and facial expressions, but unfortunately cannot repeat the same level of success that Manning had in his first few years starting. 

The New York Giants have not been quite the same since Eli Manning retired. They went 6-10 last year in their first year with Daniel Jones as the team’s sole leader and are currently going through a rough season where they began 1-5. So it is more of the same, but the best part of Manning retiring has been seeing him outside of the field. The New York Giants have given Eli “The Eli Manning Show,” a YouTube show. At the same time, ESPN has also allowed Eli to travel around for “Eli’s Places,” going to various colleges across the country on top of the popular “Manningcast” with his brother Peyton. The Eli you see on Monday Nights on a telecast with his older brother is a far cry from the Eli you saw standing at the podium after every game as a player. For one, he is actually smiling and cracking jokes — something you did not see much of in the tail end of his New York Giants career — and it is just great to see him look happy. I miss seeing number 10 out on the field every Sunday for the New York Giants, but it is evident that he is in a much better place and enjoying himself.  

Sources: Pro Football Reference, YouTube