With a month of solid, confident play getting the youngest Manning brother to the Super Bowl just one year after big brother Peyton, Eli Manning is now a media darling of sorts, and two pieces from NYC newspapers are particularly embarrassing. First up is the New York Times profile that basically calls Eli a huge mama's boy and provides the picture above (dated 1996 — "And I miss youuuuu… like the deserts miss the rain").
“Eli and Olivia are certainly very close,” Archie said, referring to his wife and Manning’s mother. “They have that special bond that you see between mamas and their baby boys.” [...] Cooper, 33, was a loud and animated child, the family’s natural-born entertainer. Growing up, he and Peyton, 31, were fiercely competitive, the dining room table becoming another battle field for their sibling rivalry. Eli was more reserved, like his mother. They would sit largely silent at mealtime, digesting the conversation along with their meals.
Going the other way (in every sense of the phrase), the New York Post's Andrea Peyser has this piece of journo-porn proclaiming Eli a hunk.
I want me some Eli. When it comes to men, there is no competition. Eli Manning is New York's new super stud – an "aw shucks, ma'am" hottie with jug ears, an infectious grin, and immaculate breeding to go along with his fast hands and field smarts… When choosing a quarterback, I don't want a playboy, a diva or a modelizer. I want a real man.
Guhhh. He was a better story when he sucked.
