Eli Manning, quarterback for the New York Giants is the type of person I want my professional athletes to be like. I like them to be good for the team and have moments of spectacular play that may be talked about for a long time. I like them to have 'clutch' moments as well. I would like them to lead us to a championship somewhere along the line. I like them to get up to the podium, if that is part of their job description, and be humble and say the things that matter to the team and to the coaches, and nothing else; win, lose or draw. Most of all I do not want them to get caught up in the classless world of spewing emotions into a microphone, just because it is there.

I don't want them to spill their emotional guts anytime a light is shone on them, because of my need for reality TV.

Eli is the loyal sort

Eli Manning has spent 14 years in a New York Giants uniform, and the NY Daily News reports, "he is heartbroken" according to his father and former NFL quarterback, Archie Manning. He is heartbroken at the prospect of being asked to sit on the bench for the remainder of the 2017 season. Heartbroken is a term that a caring parent might use to describe the emotions of their child. It isn't a term that is often used to describe the emotions of a professional football player, a veteran of one of the world's most violent games for the last decade and a half. Eli Manning has apparently cared about being a NY Giant.

And if he was raised to be a loyal guy by his family and subsequently drank the 'Kool-aid' of this storied sports franchise, who can blame him. Tim Mara, the grandfather of current Giants owner John Mara, paid $500 in 1925 for a team that nobody knew what to do with. Since that time, the Giants franchise has played in more championship games than you can shake a stick at and has won four Super Bowls in the modern era.

He bleeds New York Giants Blue

The New York Football Giants, so named because of the already entrenched baseball team of the same name and city, are playing terrible football this year. No one knows why, although there are many opinions. The chemistry between the head coach and his offensive players (some might say 'offensive'), has been awful.

At 2 - 9, major changes had to take place. Eli has not played well. That is not to say that it has all been his fault. Moreover, Eli has stood in front of the microphone after each loss and talked about football, and what a football team needs to do in order to get better. It hasn't worked, and he the quarterback needs to be part of the change. This is simply the way it is in the NFL.

Eli Manning has a lot to be happy about

If it is at all possible, Eli Manning made this fan forget that the QB made $150 million while playing a kid's game. He did this by being an honest, upfront person, who didn't complain in the media when things didn't go well. And, believe me, there have been some lousy seasons during his tenure.

He has made some spectacular plays, and some of those were 'clutch' plays. He led the Ny Giants, along with a stalwart defense, to two Super Bowl victories against the greatest coaching and quarterback tandem in NFL history. Eli probably doesn't have the same make-up of the Tiki Barber's, the Plaxico Burris', or the OBJ's of the new era New York Giants, and that's just the way it is. He is a little old school, But, then again, the NY Giants are a little old school. I, for one, kinda like it that way. It is sad to see a great team player, and a leader in some of the team's most exciting celebrations, end his career on such a down note, but Eli Manning's bust is already in-waiting for Canton. You can't take that away from him. You can't take the $150m away either. Thanks, Eli, for the memories.
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