Early this morning (5:30 AM to be exact) I took my loaded up rental van over the George to begin setting up for today's Eli Manning signing. Eli, over the past few weeks, has solidified himself as a true franchise quarterback. He has out-dueled the best in the game and in the process has taken his team to the Super Bowl. The most telling thing about Manning (and this is no secret) is that he as team-first a guy as their is in sports. After Sunday's dramatic victory he stood at the podium and answered all the questions that got thrown at him. What I found most interesting and refreshing is that every question that really should have been answered with an "I" was answered with a "We". That is what the Giants have become...a true team in every sense of the word...and it starts with their quarterback Eli. Anyway, with all that said Eli..being part of the Steiner team as well... was kind enough to give us a few hours of his time for a signing. After unloading the van and setting up we were finally ready to roll at about 9:30. Eli popped in right on time at 10:00 and got right to work. Over the course of two hours Manning signed some incredibly potent product including mini-helmets, footballs and several new photos...a few from Sunday's amazing win. Once Eli was done it took about an hour to pack up and we headed right back over the GWB towards New Rochelle.
This is an unbelievably exciting time for Giants fans and collectors alike. Personally I have not been this pumped about a team in quite some time and, with being in this industry, am really ecstatic about being around some of the players and checking the pulse and vibe of the G-Men...it feels uncannily similar to all the other championship teams I have been around over the past few years. The best part about it is that, finally, it's our team in the big game.
There are still a ton of strong signings coming up over the next few days so keep checking back daily for updates...i'll try my best to keep up.