After retiring from football following a 16-year NFL career, Giants legend Eli Manning made one promise to himself: to never watch a football game in Philadelphia again. He’s about to break that vow thanks to Big Blue’s current playoff run. His reception at Lincoln Financial Field should be an epic one, too.
Peyton Manning and Eli did their Monday Night Football Manningcast during the Dallas Cowboys’ wild-card victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Eli’s older brother broached the topic, so the two-time Super Bowl champion had to tip his hand:
"I said when I retired that I would never go back to a football game at Philly, but I think I have to break my promise (for Giants-Eagles). I think I have to go there. I can't wait to see the amount of double birds I get. Could break a record."- Eli Manning ?? #ManningCast pic.twitter.com/HzowYLzP0S
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 17, 2023
There you have it, folks. As if flipping the double birds at current Giants players wasn’t going to be fun enough for Eagles fans, they’ll get to pick on Manning, too.
Outside of the obvious reasons, why did Manning vow to never experience another football game in Philadelphia? He traveled to the City of Brotherly Love at least once per year throughout his NFL career. The former signal-caller probably thought that was enough. However, his stats tell us he likely doesn’t have a ton of terrific memories when it comes to facing the Eagles, either.
Manning faced the Eagles 31 times while with the Giants and posted just a 10-21 record. He passed for 7,994 yards with 54 touchdowns and 34 interceptions. New York hasn’t won a game in Philly since Week 8 of the 2013 season. So, that means Manning went 0-for-Philadelphia over the last six years of his NFL career.
Thinking about all this, nobody can blame him for not wanting to revisit a place that led to such torment. But the 2022 Giants appear to be forcing his hand. Wouldn’t it be cool to see how Manning experiences a live Giants-Eagles game from his own perspective? Wearing a GoPro for 3-4 hours doesn’t sound like the most comfortable thing in the world, but it’d be great content.
And if we know anything about Eli Manning in his post-football life, it’s that he’s all about #content these days.
Matt Musico can be reached at matt.musico@xlmedia.com and you can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
