One day, he's going to be in the Hall of Fame and it will be as a member of the NY Giants. Say what you want about Big Blue legend Eli Manning, but the former star quarterback is never going to take his time with the organization for granted.
At the Fanatics Fest NYC event, Manning took part in 'Night of Champions' with Ottis Anderson, Michael Strahan, Plaxico Burress and Justin Tuck. When host and former NY QB Jesse Palmer asked the guys about what 'once a Giant, always a Giant' meant to them, Manning delivered an emotional and incredible response:
Eli Manning on “Once a Giant, always a Giant” means to him pic.twitter.com/PbaZekBuZW
— GMEN HQ (@GMENHQ) August 16, 2024
Eli Manning absolutely loved his time playing for the NY Giants
"It's meant the world to me to come to the New York Giants. No one has enjoyed playing for the New York Giants more than me and I can say that in front of all these guys and I know they feel the same way - everybody that plays for the Giants feels like they're the luckiest person to be in that organization and franchise because they truly care about the players. "Eli Manning
Manning's answer drew quite the response from those on hand at the Javits Center and understandably so. While the end of his career didn't go as planned, with Ben McAdoo benching Manning and ruining his starts streak, it doesn't take away at all from what he accomplished in East Rutherford.
The future Hall of Famer (that's right, we said it) won two Super Bowls, breaking Tom Brady's heart twice with upset wins over the New England Patriots. For his career, the former first-round pick tossed for more than 57,000 yards and 366 touchdowns. He was also a four-time Pro Bowler.
From 2004-2019, Manning went through so many highs and lows with the team, but now that he's retired, he's realizing nothing could have beaten his time with the G-Men. He's still around the franchise quite a bit and he's also serving as a mentor for Daniel Jones.
Jones has been a hot topic recently, but Manning is doing all that he can to be a friend and help him try and get on the right track. All in all, Manning has nothing but love for the organization and he's quite thankful he was able to play in so many games with the team. The fanbase obviously loves him too, especially for helping NY bring home the Lombardi Trophy twice.