The Loop
The best part of Patriots vs. Giants was the birth of a new Eli Manning meme
While most New York Giants fans were saddened by the benching of longtime and legendary (Yes, I said "legendary," come at me!) quarterback Eli Manning, many football fans also lamented the mood. With Eli The Great (Again, come at me!) banished to the bench, they believed the days of mocking him through his dazed-and-confused reactions commonly known as "Eli Manning Face" had come to an end. But oh, were they so wrong.
As you can probably tell by now, I'm a huge Eli guy, who has quickly become a big Daniel Jones supporter as well despite initial warranted worries about him. They don't call Duke "QB U" after all. But while it has pained me to see Manning become a punchline in recent years, a fantastic Ben Baskin Sports Illustrated story from this week that reports Eli himself finds it funny, I feel OK to proceed with this post. Because as a Giants fan, the best part of Thursday night's lopsided loss to the New England Patriots (Too bad Eli didn't get a crack to take down Tom and Bill again) was a new Eli Manning meme from the sideline.
The moment occurred in the second half after Jones had thrown his third interception of the contest, which was actually closer than expected to that point. The rookie QB showed his frustration on the bench while Manning looked at a Microsoft tablet. Manning was obviously breaking down film to help his young replacement—as the SI article confirmed, you can't be a better teammate—but the screenshot left the door open for jokes to be made. And boy, did they pile up like the fantasy points owned by the Patriots defense. Here's a sampling:
Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, everyone. It won't be so funny to your favorite teams when having the world's highest-paid teacher translates to big wins!
Eventually. Hopefully.