Sportaholic: Super Bowl Week Kick-Off: If Eli wins this year's ring is his career better than Peyton's

Let’s face it Monday’s usually suck. The weekend is filled with movies, concerts, sporting events, drinking, just about all the things most people love to do. As much we all dread the beginning of the work week, we all have a silver lining to the evil weekend snatcher that is Monday. Super bowl week is upon us as folks as New England and New York get ready to do battle in 42nd edition of America’s most watched event. You can’t be help but to be excited at just the thought of the crowning of a new NFL champ on the grandest, most commercialized and hyped event in American sports culture. You have every right in my book to call it a holiday as it brings together that weird combination of crazy family members, close and distant friends and strangers who all are just taking it all in. It’s freaking Tom Brady vs. Eli Manning, chapped face Tom Couglin vs. the hooded evil genius Bill Belicheck, Pepsi vs. Coke in commercials, and Mike Strahan and his gap vs. anyone who picks against the Giants. So this week we here at the Sportaholic will be introducing all Super Bowl related content.

To get things started we ask the question that has begun to be heard in whispers across all astute NFL fans lips. There we say if Eli Manning wins his second Super Bowl, does that make his career more successful than his Hall of Fame bound brother Peyton Manning’s? Honestly did you ever even think this would be topic of debate? I mean we all knew Eli was good but Peyton has been considered the golden standard of the QB position over the last decade. The first overall pick of the 1998 NFL draft, Peyton is a 4-time MVP and Super Bowl 2007 champion and game MVP. Just look in Wikepeida for the facts: Manning holds NFL records for consecutive seasons with 4,000 or more yards passing (6) and the most total This doesn’t even include his storied career at the University of Tennessee. His marketability is another remarkable aspect of Peyton as he has been the host of Saturday Nigh Live, made a guest appearance on The Simpsons and endorsed multiple name brand products.

seasons with 4,000 or more yards passing in a career (11)

Manning holds the sixth highest career passer rating (94.9) in NFL history and is the all-

time Colts franchise leader in career wins, career passing yards, pass attempts, pass

completions, and passing touchdowns.[5] In 2009, he was listed by The Sporting News as the

No. 1 player in the NFL.[6] The same year, Fox Sports named him player of the decade. Since the Colts drafted Manning in 1998, the team has the highest conversion rate on 3rd down (44.6%) and 4th down (61.1%) plays in the NFL. the NFL.

Eli Manning’s career seems a lot better if it wasn’t constantly compared by Peyton’s standard. He too was a #1 pick in the 2004 draft ahead of the likes of Phillip Rivers and Ben Roethlisberger. He rubbed a lot of fans and NFL guru’s the wrong way as his father Archie forced a trade from the San Diego Chargers to the New York Giants that many still have indifferent feelings about him after that decision to this day. But Eli has become the champion of his family with his epic performance one of the most memorable Super Bowls of all time. Although his Wikipedia bio still refers to him as “Peyton’s little brother”, younger brother has proved himself to be the better playoff QB than Peyton as his 7-3 record is clearly is better than Peyton’s 9-10 mark. It gets even better on the road for Eli on the road as he 5-1 and Peyton is 2-5 and as you look more at the numbers it not even close in the playoffs to compare the two. Of course you can go vice versa in throwing Peyton’s regular season numbers out against Eli’s.

It comes down which more do you prefer. Peyton is as good as we’ve ever seen in the regular season and he has the numbers to prove it. He revolutionized the QB position with his intricate knowledge of tweaks and nusiances at the line of scrimmage that left defenses helpless. It seemed at times that he didn’t even need a offensive coordinator with his mastery of the offense. And yet with a victory in this year’s Super Bowl Eli would definitely move from his brother’s shadow and be the most decorated of the entire Manning family Don’t forget Archie was the #2 pick of the 1971 draft himself and a legend at Ole Miss). For all of the accomplishments Peyton had in the regular season and all the records he has accumulated, nothing speaks more than rings and Eli could have 2 to Peyton’s 1 by the end of this week. Can you just imagine the dinner table one night at the Manning house as Eli embellishes his two rings while Peyton says a few words under his breath looking at his one and only? And to top it off it would have come on the field that Peyton made great, (Although he is being pushed out the door it seems now) in Indianapolis?

You really can’t make this stuff up and that’s why it’s such an ironic and captivating story. As crazy as it was to think back a few years ago, I really feel that if Eli wins this year’s game you really have to give him the nod not to mention that he will still have multiple chances to get even more rings after this season. The rivalry between the brothers that probably started over toys will now have ended with Lombardi trophies and Eli would be the last standing.