New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning may endure more criticism than any other NFL player, but even with that sort of baggage, he admits it pales in comparison to what he experiences each year in Philadelphia.
While speaking at the NYIT Center for Sports Medicine/Head Injury Association panel discussion in Woodbury earlier this week, Manning acknowledged that Eagles fans are a different breed and never fail to surprise him in the most inappropriate ways.
“You go there, and that 9-year-old kid is giving you the double finger,” Manning said via Newsday. “Not a thumbs-up. Not, ‘We’re No. 1.’ And he said something about my mom; I had to Google what it was. It’s just different. It’s a different culture.”
Manning added that it’s been occurring so long in Philadelphia that the former nine-year-old now has a child of his own and they’ve been taught the same tactics.
“Now I see him and he’s got his 9-year-old kid with him,” Manning said, smiling. “Same deal. It runs in the families down there.”
This is par for the course in Philadelphia — a city that has earned a reputation for assaulting fans of opposing teams, throwing batteries onto the field and pelting Santa Claus with snowballs. Needless to say, nothing Manning has to offer up comes as a surprise.
