The Manning family has shared center stage for quite some time in the NFL. Both Peyton and Eli have experienced a healthy amount of success at the highest level, even if Eli doesn’t always look happy about it. Their diametrically opposed personalities present a fun dynamic to discuss and debate: Peyton, the gregarious leader with an unmatched football IQ, pushed up against Eli, the aloof introvert with impressive savvy and arm strength.
Before Peyton’s Super Bowl 50 victory, Eli provided some insight on how that dynamic played out when the Manning brothers were but wee lads.
“You know they were pretty nice to me,” Eli said. “I think the biggest thing they did, mostly Peyton because you know Cooper is older than him, [Cooper] would pick on [Peyton]. So I come along, I’m gonna take it. So [Peyton] would pin me down, you know, put his knees on my arms. He’d just start knocking on my chest until I named at the time the 28 teams in the NFL. So I got smart eventually I could rip those off pretty quickly. We went college divisions, different things and then if he just wanted to make me cry he’d say, ‘Name ten brands of cigarettes.’ I’m like, ‘I’m seven years old I haven’t started smoking cigarettes quite yet,’ but that’s when I’d just start yelling for mom.”
This explains the sadness behind Eli’s blank stare. He could never quite remember those 10 cigarette brands. Peyton probably pulled this stunt dozens of times when they were kids. But Eli can have the last laugh, because Peyton has committed the highest offense you can as an adult: He drinks bad beer.
