The .300 Hitter: Eli, as a Man

By Adam Cancryn

Eli Manning and the NFC Championship Game, a coming of age tale.

Even as society forever struggles with the definition of manhood, there are no shortage of milestones commemorating that mystical passage from juvenile to real, adult man.

Legally, that transition is automatic at 18 years old. Among Jews, though, it's more like 14, while Christians can jump the gun on becoming a man with that First Communion at age seven. The philosophical and literary types set the bar a little higher. Often the passage to manhood is determined by any number of transformational experiences, rather than an arbitrary age.

Yet for all of these potential man-making markers, it seems Eli Manning missed every single one. Now 31, the quarterback with 10 playoff games, one Super Bowl ring, a wife and a son to his name is still portrayed as the rug rat of the NFL, the kid pretending to be a big time professional athlete. Over the past eight years, he's been at various times the Rookie, the Work in Progress and finally the Franchise Quarterback. At all times, though, he's been Peyton's little brother.

That portrayal was inevitable, even if it's not exactly fair. Where most quarterbacks are evaluated on their raw production, Eli is judged by his unique brand of aesthetic awkwardness: The thousand-yard stare, the reflexive right shoulder shrug, the gawrsh-darnit! slap on the knee after a poor play. He's the Theodore Cleaver of the NFL, and that doesn't play well in a league built on Hulk Hogan-esque machismo.

However, Manning's image as the home by dark, in bed by 8 golden child might finally be changing, thanks mainly to his performance in the NFC Championship Game and the sheer amount of brutality he endured over its four-and-a-half quarters.

Officially, the 49ers brought Manning to his knees six times, but anyone watching knows that was hardly the full price paid for his 58 passing attempts. The Giants' quarterback was hurried, hit and knocked down all afternoon, thrashings often delivered by 6' 4", 270-pound defensive ends Justin and Aldon Smith. Yet Manning bounced back each time, albeit caked in dirt, with shoulder pads unhinged and helmet askew. He trotted back to the huddle, called the play and then returned to the scene of his last beating.

Manning did not singlehandedly win the game, the way he has done in the past. He was not even particularly impressive, managing just 5.4 yards per attempt and orchestrating only two scores. But if his dogged pursuit of pain was not particularly productive, it was at least inspiring. The aw-shucks kid from Louisiana had morphed into a bare-knuckle brawler, shrugging off the latest wound as "just a scratch." In doing so, he did more to change his public perception in one game than he'd done in eight years.

Manning will never be the bleeding-from-the-head Y.A. Tittle that Giants fans still yearn for, even after standing tall against the Niners. Maybe now, though, he can at least shed all those juvenile qualifiers. Maybe now, he can simply be Eli, the Man.


The Week Ahead (all times EST)- Your guide to what to watch-- and what to watch for-- this coming week

Super Bowl
Patriots v. Giants- Feb. 5 at 6:29 p.m. (NBC)
College Basketball

Missouri at Texas- Jan. 30 at 9 p.m. (ESPN)
UConn at Georgetown- Feb. 1 at 7 p.m. (ESPN2)
Towson at Hofstra- Feb. 1 at 7 p.m.
Syracuse at St. John's- Feb. 4 at noon (ESPN)
Ohio St. at Wisconsin- Feb. 4 at 2 p.m. (ESPN)
Kansas at Missouri- Feb. 4 at 9 p.m. (ESPN)
NBA
Thunder at Clippers- Jan. 30 at 10:30 p.m. (FSN Prime Ticket/NBATV)
Bulls at 76ers- Feb. 1 at 7 p.m. (Comcast Sports Chicago/COMCAST)
Pacers at Mavericks- Feb. 3 at 8:30 p.m. (FOX SW)
76ers at Hawks- Feb. 4 at 7 p.m. (COMCAST/Sport South)
NHL
Rangers at Devils- Jan. 31 at 7 p.m. (MSG+)
Blackhawks at Canucks- Jan. 31 at 10 p.m. (WGN/TSN)
Penguins at Maple Leafs- Feb. 1 at 7:30 (FOX PITT/TSN)
Predators at Flyers- Feb. 2 at 7 p.m. (FXSM/COMCAST)
Kings at Blues- Feb. 3 at 8 p.m. (FOX WEST/FOX MIDW)
Devils at Flyers- Feb. 4 at 1 p.m. (MSG+/COMCAST)
Bruins at Capitals- Feb. 5 at 12:30 p.m. (NBCSN)

In the Kitchen- Tracking the major hot stove stories

• Pitcher Roy Oswalt will likely be the next big name on the move, as he is expected to sign with the St. Louis Cardinals within the next few days. Oswalt has been a top-of-rotation pitcher throughout his career, but back injuries slowed him last year and continue to be a concern. As a result, he'll probably end up signing a one-year deal. The Red Sox and Texas Rangers are also in pursuit.
• The bidding for ownership of the Los Angeles Dodgers is believed to have topped $1.2 billion, with one offer reported at $1.5 billion. At least eight potential buyers made it to the second round of bidding for the franchise that was put on the block amid its owners' bitter divorce.
• Reliever Koji Uehara might end up back with the Baltimore Orioles, after he rejected a trade to the Toronto Blue Jays. The Orioles traded Uehara to the Texas Rangers late last season for their playoff push, but after developing a bond with the city of Baltimore, would prefer to return.
• The New York Mets are on track for the largest year-over-year payroll drop in MLB history, cutting $52 million. That would be more than the $48.4 million the Texas Rangers shed between 2003 and 2004. The departures of Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran and Francisco Rodriguez have made the biggest dent in the team's expenses, actions necessitated by a string of recent financial issues.

Web Gems- The week's best, worst or strangest Internet sports finds

Jets' Curtis Martin has shown greatness beyond football, including forgiving his father- The moving story of Hall of Fame candidate Curtis Martin, his father and forgiveness

A fighter abroad- Brian Phillips' thoroughly researched feature on the life and career of free slave-turned-bare knuckle boxer Tom Molineaux

Joe Paterno: Bury a man, keep the statue- College football devotee Spencer Hall on the late Joe Paterno

The blessed lives of Herb Pope- Herb Pope cheated death twice, and now he's leading upstart Seton Hall and is a candidate for Big East Player of the Year

Roger Federer as religious experience- In honor of Jan. 29's epic Australian Open final, revisit David Foster Wallace's iconic essay on tennis and Roger Federer

Coming Up- What's next at Began in '96

• Tuesday: Keeping up with American sports while living on the other side of the world, by Nate Nickerson.
• Thursday: Began in '96's first annual Super Bowl drinking game.
• Friday: In a matchup no football traditionalist could love, this year's Super Bowl will feature both the league's worst defensive team and the league's worst rushing offense, by Adam Cancryn.