Tom Brady and Eli Manning were at the center of a rivalry that defined New York Giants football earlier this century. It was like a cat-and-mouse game where Brady could never get the better of Manning and the Giants. And Giants fans are rightfully never going to stop reminding the New England Patriots about the perfect season that was broken in true David-versus-Goliath fashion.
Brady and Manning are like Tom and Jerry, or like Wile E. Coyote and the Roadrunner. It isn't often you get to say your franchise is 2-0 in the Super Bowl against the greatest quarterback of all time, and knowing Big Blue is the reason for the only blemish on the GOAT's resume doesn't sit right with him years later.
15 years after the second Super Bowl and almost two decades after the first, the seven-time Super Bowl champion broke his silence. During an interview with Stick To Football, Brady mentioned that he and Manning have a pretty good relationship, but he still isn't over those games — and probably never will be.
“I love Eli [Manning]," Brady stated. "Eli and I actually have a really fun relationship, and I take nothing away from what they accomplished. And on the two games we played them in the Super Bowl, they played better than we did, but we played consistently better than them always. Some games, they would play so bad ... and then they would see our little Patriot helmets come on the field and they would turn into this incredible … unbelievable."
Tom Brady still sounds salty about losing two Super Bowls to the Giants
Brady mentioned that he thought his Patriots teams played "consistently better" than those Giants squads, but the scoreboard indicated otherwise on two separate occasions. He still doesn't understand what New York did well in 2007 and 2011: they thrived while having the underdog label.
Saying that there were games where they looked horrible just isn't true either. Did he miss the 2011 G-Men beating up on the 15-1 Packers at Lambeau Field? They would see the Patriots' helmets and come out there looking like a force, but discrediting what this franchise accomplished against other teams is plain wrong.
Tom Coughlin deserves his due for always preparing this team for the big stakes. Most teams would be quivering at the thought of being the only team standing in the way of a 20-0 season for New England, but the Giants remained prepared and proved they were wrong to be underestimated.
Both of those games were close, but what it came down to was Eli Manning having the clutch gene years before New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson ever did. He gave Brady nightmares for a few years there, and he was the King of New York when it mattered most, so that 15-year-old trauma isn't going to go away anytime soon.
For all of the accomplishments Brady has, he still sees himself as the dragon and the Giants as the dragon slayers.
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