"“My parents really weren't supportive. My dad didn't like the idea. Now, he came to my defense and like supported me after everything was going down, but . . . he didn't like that. And afterwards he took the brunt of a lot of the criticism because he came to my defense and people were saying, 'Oh, you played in New Orleans all those years you didn't win, so you're trying to dictate like where your son's going.' And and he just bit his tongue and said, 'Hey, this is what Eli wants to do and I support him' and he did some media to try to save me from doing all the media and taking the hits.”"
"“San Diego had the first pick, I didn't really want to go there. I just didn't feel like they were the most committed team to winning at the time.”"
Eli Manning described family dynamics around the 2004 NFL Draft. He said his parents were not supportive at first, and his father disliked the idea of Manning going to a particular destination. Manning said his father later defended him and supported his decision after criticism. He said his father took criticism for supporting him and tried to reduce Manning’s exposure to media and backlash. Manning also said the Chargers held the first pick and that he did not want to go there. He stated he did not feel the Chargers were committed to winning at the time.
Read at Bleacher Nation
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