Eli Manning says he never brings up the two Super Bowls wins over Tom Brady

Wealthy, retired, and probably bored Eli Manning has made a new connection with the New York Giants, inquiring about a possible position with the franchise other then on the field of play.

It’s new news, but perhaps something else for him to do along with comic commercials with big brother Peyton.

On another front, there’s always the two Most Valuable Player Super Bowls he won as quarterback against the New England Patriots. Former No.10 he claims he rarely refers to them, but that still No. 12 Tom Brady does, and especially the one in 2008 when the wild card Giants who play in New Jersey won 17-14 to halt the undefeated Pats’ quest as the best-ever NFL team, and stand alongside the 1972 Miami Dolphins as the lone unbeaten franchise.

Yes, Brady had won a record number of Super Bowls, but that loss still bothers him. And Eli is the only quarterback in existence who has beaten Brady twice in the clash for the annual Vince Lombardi trophy. The other time was just dandy, but this one was forever noteworthy.

“It’s one of those things,” Eli says. “It’s not something I every say or think about, but I’ve been around Tom numerous times and I’ve never brought up a Super Bowl or out games versus them. He actually brings it up. It still bothers him a bit, especially the ’07 one when they had the chance to go down as the greatest team of all time.”

But as Brady is now in quest of his seventh Super Bowl success, when at age 43 and in his first year with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he will be at quarterback against the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs on Feb. 7 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla., home of the Bucs., thus Super Bowl 55 will be the first time since the initial one in 1967 that a participant has been the home team after 25 different venues played host.

And because of the threat of Brady, KC is only an early-line 3-point favorite with an expected 20 to 30,000 turnover with COVID-19 restrictions.

That no doubt brings joy to the aging but great future Hall of Famer, but he still brings up that one setback in Phoenix, Ariz.

Yet it’s hard to blame Brady for feeling sore about that one particular defeat. Those 2007 Patriots under head coach Bill Belichick went 16-0 in the regular season, and one game away from becoming the only team to ever go 19-0 overall, and finish with two more wins then those Dolphins. Meanwhile, Manning and the Giants were 10-6 in the regular season, but were still able to put a stop to that.

Manning was quick to add that he doesn’t fell superior to Brady at all, considering his body of work.

“No doubt,” he says, “I don’t have any bragging rights with Tom. “This is his 10th Super Bowl and I’m so impressed with his entire career.”

Defeating Brady twice on football’s biggest stage hasn’t affected Manning’s rooting interest. He says when he watches games, he still focuses on quarterbacks and offenses, regardless of his history with them. He adds his history with Brady also hasn’t affected how he views him, that he recognizes how special and unique Brady is, and how incredible his accomplishments are.

“It’s very impressive what Tom’s able to do,” says Manning. “Just the fact, changing teams after 20 years, with one team where you’ve had so much success and going to a new team, new city, new state during a pandemic where you have a shortened off-season and different rules and kind of get the same results.

“Getting back to a Super Bowl at his age and no signs of gray, it’s so downright impressive. It was hard to think that this was going to be possible. He’s obviously got a special demeanor and a special ability to get guys to rally around him.”

Will he root for Tampa Bay and Brady? Asking that, Manning answers that he will watch the game and looks forward to it. Why? He says because of Tom, and adds ditto for Peyton, that both respect credit when credit is due and that No. 12 overwhelmingly deserves that.

He says that after this Super Bowl, he will check out the Giants again to see if they have anything more to offer him. But those crafty comic commercials that he credits Peyton for keeps him going on the tubes.

Wonder who Belichick will be rooting for?