Eli Manning Prank: Dipped Linemen’s Dress Shoes in Purple Paint

Eli Manning’s ultimate prank on his offensive linemen – ESPN Video

Former New York Giants middle linebacker Antonio Pierce told Ryen Russillo and former Giants quarterback Danny Kannell the story of an Eli Manning prank – one of many the two-time Super Bowl MVP has pulled – in which he dipped his offensive linemen’s DRESS shoes in purple paint right before boarding a plane for an away game. Or, as AP put it, he made ’em look like Barney. Nerd alert: Barney didn’t wear shoes. Pierce didn’t say before which game this ruse took place, but just look for the contests that had an unusually high number of sacks.

This confirms the suspicion that despite the monotone interviews Eli delivers on a consistent basis, the guy is sneaky funny and devious when the spotlight’s not on him.

For the Win pointed to the time Eli messed with former Saturday Night Live cast member Kevin Nealon’s phone.

Though Eli didn’t win the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award and he ranks below Tim Tebow and “Someone Else / Don’t Have a Favorite” in America’s Favorite Quarterback poll, he cherishes the little victories, like changing the language on his receiver’s cell phone to Japanese.

As Grantland noted in October 2011, Eli has a long, rich history of pulling practical jokes, dubbing him the “Godfather of Pranks“.

So, while big brother Peyton pokes fun at Eli’s lackluster reactions, Eli might just have something in store for Papa John. And maybe instead of releasing his pent-up frustrations and anger on the field via helmet-to-helmet spears, Odell Beckham could take a page from Eli’s prank book and blow off steam that way.