The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Eli Manning joins Twitter, finds Brady waiting for him
Who knew that, in the strange times we’re living in, there would be solid amusement, a bit of entertainment even, from ... Tom Brady and Eli Manning?
That’s what unfolded Saturday afternoon when Manning, now retired after 16 seasons with the New York Giants, decided to dip his toe into the social media waters, perhaps a necessary diversion from social isolation with four young children. His first tweet was vintage Eli, a nod to the movie “Hoosiers.”
He quickly found a foil in Brady, the man he twice bested in Super Bowls. Freed from Bill Belichick’s buttoned-up atmosphere, Brady seems to be turning into a wiseacre now that he is out of New England. Some of that is unintentional, like when he worked out in a Tampa park closed because of the novel coronavirus pandemic and when he mistakenly entered the wrong house in Tampa.
He quickly fired back at Manning with a tweet.
You may recall that Manning twice delivered two of the most painful losses in Brady’s storied career with fourth-quarter heroics. In Super Bowl XLII, Manning and the New York Giants ruined the Patriots’ perfect season with a 17-14 win, and in Super Bowl XLVI, he led the Giants to a 21-17 victory. In both games, Manning was named the MVP.
Manning delivered the last word in their Twitter conversation, too, with a mention of “The Match: Champions for Charity,” the Sunday event featuring Phil Mickelson and Brady against Tiger Woods and Eli’s brother, Peyton.
As far as trash talk goes, Eli is no match for Peyton, who fired away at Brady in the hype leading up to the charity round of golf. “The tournament,” Peyton said, “had to be in Florida after Tom’s B-and-E arrest . ... With the ankle monitor, (Brady) couldn’t leave the state.”
The match is being played in Hobe Sound, Florida, at Woods’ home course. “I would have loved to have had this tournament in a place where they don’t like
Tom very much,” Manning added, listing Denver, where he finished his career with the Broncos, and Indianapolis. He also mentioned Boston, suggesting that Patriots fans would also have no love for Brady anymore “after he betrayed them and broke their hearts.”
Brady had a deft zinger of his own when he cracked that, at first, he thought he was going to be paired with Woods, but then “Peyton’s dad called and switched the team.” Manning could only chuckle at the reference to the 2004 episode in which Archie Manning told the San Diego Chargers that Eli preferred not to be drafted by them and instead wanted to play for the Giants.