Talk about taking a talented gift for granted. Certainly I must be referring to Eli Manning and the rest of the Manning family, as their presence has certainly been around the news this past week, concerning the NFL draft. Following the San Diego Chargers selecting Eli Manning, making him the number one pick in the 2004 NFL draft, Eli quickly stated that he shall sit out the season, while attending law school.
This of course comes after it was made public on Thursday morning, that Eli Manning did not want to play for the San Diego Chargers organization. The speculated story is that Eli’s father, legendary Saints quarterback, Archie Manning told Eli’s agent that he and his son do not want to play for that organization. The Chargers decided to leak that information to the public, and while they have been criticized for that move, I don’t see why.
Regardless, the Chargers were put in a very awkward situation. Do they draft Manning, going against his wishes and risk the chance of him sitting out, thus gaining no advantage, or do you give into a boy’s decision and pass him. I think the Chargers did the right thing by drafting him. Even though Eli was only a Charger for about an hour, during that time, Eli figuratively speaking, was held hostage by the organization, having to chose whether to play ball with a team he wants no part of, or going back to school and playing no ball.
And why are the Chargers getting ripped for making it public, that Eli does not want to play for them? The way I see it, if the Chargers would have kept quiet, and then had proceeded to draft Manning, then make the trade acquiring Philip Rivers, that would leave a lot of angry fans wondering why their team traded away who is perceived to be the best quarterback in the 2004 draft. What if the Chargers kept everything secret, and just passed up Manning? That surely would not sit well with their fans, now would it? A few years back, the Indianapolis Colts with their number one pick, drafted Eli’s older brother, Peyton, thus leaving the Chargers with their number two pick, and selecting Ryan Leaf, while turning out to be one of the biggest busts in NFL history, is living life quite comfortably right now.
The Chargers had to make it public that Eli, with the influence of his father, Archie, did not want anything to do with San Diego. I don’t blame the Manning family for not wanting the public to know about this. Certainly, Archie Manning did not want his son to be compared to Hall of Fame quarterback, John Elway, when in 1984, he refused to play for Baltimore. While for the beginning of his career, that incident stuck with Elway, as his career progressed and began to take off, the haunting brat image slowly went away. The pressure is now on Eli, to live up to the hype, to be just as good, if not better, than his older brother Peyton.
Archie Manning, I’m sure, did not intend to do anything that would be a dis-service to his son. Hell, in his mind, he rescued his son from going to San Diego. But in doing so, Archie may have caused dis-service, if Eli is unable to live up to the hype. Not only does this hype exists in the national’s eye, but also in the biggest apple of them all, New York. Even if Eli is to only start out as an average quarterback, the New York media and fans will be on him, thus not allowing the newly imposed “spoiled brat” perception to ever go away. Eli may not have to speculate how the New York fans will treat him this upcoming season. He already was greeted by a chorus of boos from the New York fans at the draft this Saturday, and rightfully so. Certainly, this was one instance, where being the first one picked, didn’t leave one in a pleasant situation.
Of course, I can’t say I feel for Manning. While every critic has been at large criticizing the Manning’s for trying to manipulate their way and place Eli on a team he wants to be on, what these critics fail to realize is, who hasn’t in their life, tried to manipulate their way into a situation that better advantages his or herself? I’m not saying that what the Manning family did was right, because it wasn’t. There is a time and place, to use any power one may have, and to try to gain advantage using it. The NFL draft is not the time, nor the place. Regardless of how well Eli was in college, he is yet to throw a pass in a professional game situation. Having said that, Manning is no better than the guy who is picked last in the final round of the draft.
I really wish someone such as Eli could have been thankful that he is talented enough to have an opportunity to play in the NFL. I wish Eli could have been thankful enough, that not only is he in the draft, but that he was projected to be the number one pick. There are thousands upon thousands of kids who play high school football, who could only dream of playing in the NFL. The amount of individuals who are in the NFL draft, is only a handful of the many quality talent that played during high school. Also consider that there are many individuals who are left un-drafted by the end of the weekend.
I don’t think it was right for Eli to necessarily get his wish and play for the Giants. Personally, I would not have had a problem if San Diego simply passed on Manning, and let the team with the second or third pick draft him. Of course, if San Diego was not going to end up with Eli, then they were going to get something in return for him, and did they ever. That was a smart move by the Chargers, who now have an individual, who for all we know, may succeed more than Eli ever does. Of course I am referring to Philip Rivers.
In a perfect world, Eli Manning would never have made mention that he never wanted to play for San Diego. In a perfect world, Eli would have been drafted by the Chargers, played their for three years, then when his contract expires, go to any team of his liking, via free agency. Unfortunately, this “perfect world” scenario may not be the reality that it should be. Here is hoping that Eli has not set a precedent that will lurk it’s ways to future NFL drafts, NBA drafts, and so on and so forth. While the Eli Mannings of the world may go out of his or her way to get what he or she wants, the rest of us will resume our daily lives by waking up, going to school and/or work, and only dreaming that we could only have a chance to be drafted by any team and make enough to live quite a comfortable life… just ask Ryan Leaf.
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