On Eli, Eliteness, Expectations, And The Game That Changed Everything

December 23, 2011.

It is a day before the New York Giants face the New York Jets in a battle of New York.  The Philadelphia Eagles are preparing for a game against Dallas that could mean everything or nothing, depending on what happens in the Giants-Jets game.  The Giants are reeling from a 23-10 loss to the Washington Redskins that was not as close as the scoreboard would make it appear.  A bottom 5 offense had a field day against the Giants defense, and to say there are doubts about the Giants would be an understatement.  No one is saying they think this team can make the NFC Championship.  Most are questioning whether or not they can make the playoffs.  Everyone proudly boasting "Eli is ELIte" after the Giants ripped apart a bad Patriots defense no longer proudly boasted this.  Perhaps this only done hauntingly enough as to only foreshadow what was to come, but on December 23, 2011, no one publicly stated Eli was ELIte.  Hell, few even held that belief privately. The Giants and Eli were a game away from their third December choke job in three years. That was the only thing on everybody's mind.

Eli Manning Vs. Timex

If there is one true fact of life, it is this: Eli Manning is unstoppable.......with his Citizen Eco Drive watch, of course. So what will happen now that the New York Giants have taken to putting ads for Timex on their practice jersies? We've got corporate conflict and Eli Manning has just the way of dealing with it! Via The New York Daily News

From the "No Coke, Pepsi!" files of brand-name clashes, the Giants have created an awkward conflict for their star quarterback by selling ad space on their practice jersey to a competitor of a company Manning already endorses for big bucks.

Big Blue this week took the training-camp field at the University at Albany in jerseys bearing a patch advertising the Timex watch company, taking advantage of a league-wide rule change that allows NFL teams to slaps ads on non-game uniforms. Problem for Manning is, he holds a six-figure deal to hawk Citizen watches, a Timex rival for which he has appeared in television, print and billboard ads.

So what's an oversold idol to do? It appears Manning can't escape wearing the Timex patch - a 3 1/2-by-4 1/2-inch logo on the left shoulder - so his plan appears to be to conduct all pre-practice interviews prior to suiting up and to shed the jersey as soon as the workout is through. All so the most watched, filmed and photographed player on the Giants can avoid any undue exposure sporting wrong watch logo.

The Giants and Timex signed a $15-year deal in June worth an estimated $35 million that names the team's Meadowlands practice facility the "Timex Performance Center" - a mini-naming-rights deal (along with other collaborations) as the Giants and Jets continue to search for a company willing to pony up around $25 million per year to name the new Meadowlands stadium.

Ah, good times in America's butt stain The Meadowlands! In all seriousness, though, I don't blame Eli Manning and I actually think he came up with a darn good solution. If you're going to be forced to wear a patch of one of your sponsor's competitors, you might as well limit that exposure as much as possible and that is what Eli Manning is doing. Aspeaking of Eli, he is now the highest paid quarterback in the NFL (yes, more than Tom Brady, brother Peyton, Tony Homo Romo, Ben Roethlisberger, among others).