The Mannings: Eli on Peyton [J. Mark English]

As a Giants fan, I hope that Eli Manning has been paying very close attention to his brother over the past few weeks. He could use more then a few pointers to learn how to play like a championship quarterback. In today's New York Post, Steve Serby interviewed Eli Manning and asked him his thoughts about his older brother:

"He's been a great big brother," Eli Manning said, "and he's supported me in everything I've done ... from being in high school, when he was in college, he'd come back to practices and teach me the things that he was learning in college, and then as things go on, he just tried to talk football ... He didn't try to coach me on anything, but we talk football, we try to help each other out and ... he's been a great big brother."

Little Brother is the quarterback of the Giants. Big Brother is the quarterback of the Colts, trying to beat the Bears tonight and bring a Super Bowl championship home to the Colts and to the Manning family.

Little Brother remembers the first time he watched Big Brother play, a long time ago, for Isidore Newman High in New Orleans.

"He was like a ninth grader in high school and he was throwing post corners to Justin Reyna," Eli said. "I can remember being at the games, I can see film of it. I went to all his high school games, I went to every game he pretty much ever played in. I've seen a majority of 'em. As we've both gotten into the NFL, I haven't seen as many, but the ones you can, you try to TiVo 'em, or if they're playing at 4 and we play at 1, you try and get home and catch the second half, and he's the same with me. We kinda watch each other because it's your brother and you root for him and you try to help each other out."

Little Brother is 25. Big Brother is 30.

"We'd definitely watch games together; I can't remember a certain Super Bowl we were sitting at home watching the game," Eli said. "Every Sunday, we'd be on the couch watching NFL football."

But the boys never imagined playing in a Super Bowl back then.