Miles
Well-known member
- Mar 18, 2019
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On his first time attending a game of Eli's in the NFL:
"I can remember in that rough patch [early in his career], he had a game against the Vikings, and I was there. I went to the game on our bye weekend, and they had a tough day, the Giants did, so the Vikings won. So I said, 'OK, maybe I shouldn't be coming to NFL games, because maybe I'm a jinx.' I had a good record when he was in high school and college. I saw him beat Alabama, beat LSU. I said, 'Maybe this NFL [has made it] change.' So he gets to the Super Bowl, and I said, 'Eli, I can't come to the game [because of] that Vikings game.' He says, 'Peyton, I hate to burst your bubble, but you don't have that much power to impact a game. It wasn't your fault that we didn't beat the Vikings. I want you to come to the Super Bowl.' I was like, 'OK, I'm relieved now. I can go.'"
On Eli's time with the Giants:
"He handled himself the right way on the field, off the field — in New York, in that market. Never skipped an interview, never did not show up at the podium after a game, especially after a loss. Nowadays, we've got guys that are there early after a win. When they lose, they don't talk to the media. Eli answered the bell on that end every single Sunday, Monday night, Sunday night. And then off the field, he was doing the right things in the community, there in the New York, New Jersey area. He's a true New Yorker, New Jersey guy now. He lives there, he spends the summers there. He actually uses the word 'summers' — he summers. I didn't know that was a verb. He used to be a Southern kid from New Orleans, and now he's a true New York, New Jersey guy. My point is, he went all in and [was] involved in all the great community projects and helping beat cancer [through] research and giving back to the March of Dimes organizations, what he's done in Mississippi. He's not forgotten where he came from, [where he] went to college, what he's done down in New Orleans, the work going back to help Katrina victims. So, I certainly was proud of him when he won that Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year. It was well deserved and I really agree with John Mara that Eli was a giant on the field and off the field. I know Eli loved playing quarterback, but I think more than that, he loved playing quarterback for the New York Giants. So to play just for one team the entire career, that's what every quarterback I think aspires to. For me, I got injured early and the Colts were going to move on and I had to find a new place to play, but 16 years with the New York Giants, that's what Eli wanted to do. So he's starting and stopping with the team that he was supposed to be with, and it's been a heck of a run during that time."
On Eli's best prank:
"He's the silent assassin. You've really got to watch him. And it's just a great — it's a release from that intense game-planning and the film study. Every now and then, [it's] 'OK, the hay's in the barn. I've watched all the film. Let's go laugh and be a part of the locker room and the bus rides.' That's what I miss the most, kind of that camaraderie with your teammates. The wins and the celebrations, but also the jokes and the pranks. The best one Eli got me on was we were on a golf trip one time and we were staying in the same room and my bed was kind of up against the corner, and I was taking a nap. And he jumps on top of me and gives me almost an atomic wedgie. And he had all the leverage. My shoulders were stuck in the corner. I couldn't get out. I just had to take it. I haven't been able to get him back. Maybe if we get a chance to play some more golf together, maybe I'll have a chance to get him back. Right now he's still one up on me."