ELI!!!

Last Tuesday Eli Nelson Manning IV retired after a storied 16 year career in the National Football League. In a lot of ways it is sad to see him go, but in other aspects this was likely inevitable.

What wasn't inevitable though was getting an actual TTM autograph from Mr. Eli Manning.

I took a long-shot attempt on Manning during the middle of the 2019-20 season and it paid off!

Manning's career and resume is pretty well known, even if you're not a New York Giants fan.
He had a pretty decorated tenure with the Ole Miss Rebels and then was drafted first overall in the 2004 NFL Player Draft by the San Diego Chargers. Manning didn't want to play for San Diego however and was subsequently traded to the Giants in exchange for Phillip Rivers (who the Giants had taken with their fourth overall pick) and a gaggle of draft picks, the rest has been history for both franchises.

Now that he's retired much of the discourse will now turn towards Eli's Hall of Fame candidacy.

This appears to be a polarizing issue for many. There are some that claim he's not a HoFer, other claim that he is. Please note that this is not an invitation for you to put your two cents in. I don't care about any hall of fame and neither should you.

What I do kinda care about is how Eli managed to win two Superbowl rings. Both of which were against the New England Patriots during the peak years of the Belichick and Brady era. For that he'll always get my unironic respect, and he'll forever also get my ironic respect for the Manning-face memes that will live on well after rings are in the rearview mirror and Giants fans endure decades upon decades of never being able to build the right team around the right player in the right amount of time (refer to how they'll completely mess up during Saquon Barkley's prime).

Plus in the end there is that life long Nu Yohka (never mind that the Giants play in New Jersey) premium attached to him so yeah, he did New York proud in a decade that had the luxury of having him and also Derek Jeter and Henrik Lundqvist as life long NYers.

So yeah, Eli made it in New York. That's as good as making it anywhere.

So best wishes to Manning in retirement and thanks for the memories.

As always thanks for stopping by and take care :).