Eli manning didn’t grow up a Giants fan, the way Derek Jeter grew up a Yankees fan. But in the end, there was no bigger Giants fan than Manning, no other franchise he wanted to play for, no other uniform he wanted to wear other than his No. 10.
And so he hangs it up, and we get to thank him for the memories one more time — the two Super Bowl championships against the Patriots GOATs, the 210-game Ironman streak, outdueling Brett Favre in the 2007 NFC Championship in arctic Green Bay, our Rambo at Lambeau, taking a licking and keeping on ticking in the 2011 NFC Championship in San Francisco, the class and dignity and integrity — when he says goodbye to 1925 Giants Drive on Friday morning.