Eagles Nation still despises Eli Manning despite so much time passing

From the opening kickoff to the final whistle, the many members of Philadelphia Eagles Nation had a lot to cheer about as their team showcased all three phases with a 38-7 drubbing over the New York Giants during the Divisional Round of the playoffs. Philly led wire to wire as the G-Men were never competitive. The doubters were silenced, giving Birds fans hope as the NFC Championship draws closer.

On a night that featured big plays, plenty of scoring by the Eagles, and next to nothing by the visiting team, positivity reigned for the duration of the contest, for the home team anyway. There were Giants fans in attendance. They felt the fire, but the loudest jeers were reserved for an alum.

Eli Manning was in attendance, and at one point, he was shown on the jumbotron. As you might expect, a chorus of boos rained down from Lincoln Financial Field’s faithful.

Regardless of how much time passes, Eagles Nation will always see Eli Manning as the enemy.

Eli Manning is a two-time Super Bowl champion, a former Giants signal-caller, and a mainstay on ESPN where he serves as a host on Eli’s Places and Monday Night Football’s ManningCast. Eagles fans know him as something else, the enemy.

It doesn’t matter how much time passes between his final game as a pro and whatever it is that he’s doing with himself presently. It doesn’t matter how many times we mock him or troll him. Picking on Eli never gets old. It’s seemingly one’s right as an Eagles fan.

Think back to that broadcast last year when he put up two middle fingers, the ‘double birds’, while aiming his angst at a young Eagles fan. The self-proclaimed victim of verbal abuse by Philly fans, Eli took a moment to fire back.

Sure, he’s more than likely accurate in his detail about the attacks that he endured (and that includes young fans). We can argue that fans should strive to be slightly more respectful, it can be argued that Philadelphia sports fans aren’t any worse than those in other cities. Manning played his college ball in the SEC and spent 16 seasons in the NFL, so he’s likely heard the verbal jabs all over the country for most of his career.

Maybe the issue isn’t the fans at all. Perhaps Eli Manning is still disturbed by his losing record versus the Eagles during his career. In 31 meetings, he crafted a 10-21 versus Philadelphia in his career as a starter. That includes losses in ten of his final 11 attempts.

Manning threw for 54 touchdowns in those 31 games but also tosses 34 career interceptions versus Philly. In total, he crafted a career-winning percentage of .500 (117-117). Throw about the Super Bowl wins, and it doesn’t sound like much of a career, does it?

Eli is gone now, but the Eagles still own the Giants.

Despite vowing to never return to The Linc again, Manning broke his promise and was on hand to see his Giants get throttled during the Divisional Round. Philadelphia’s win was their 16th in the last 19 meetings between these proud franchises.

New York hasn’t won at Lincoln Financial Field since 2013 when Matt Barkley was forced into action at quarterback to replace an injured Michael Vick. The all-time series stands as follows: 181 meetings, 92 wins by Philadelphia versus 87 losses, and two games have ended in a tie.

In a rivalry that seems more low-key than in years past due to one side’s recent dominance, it’s nice to find reasons to throw some shade. It’s great to see some of the trash talk rekindle.

Both teams exceeded expectations this season, and they could be at each other’s throats for years to come. That, in the minds of many, is the expectation, but even if that doesn’t happen, we can all hang our hats on Eli Manning.

Even though he hasn’t suited up for a Giants game since December 15th of 2019, Peyton’s younger brother continues to give us all of the ammunition that a true Eagles fan could ask for. Something tells us that he always will.