Giants naysayer changes his tune, praises Manning

DearMr.Manning,

First of all, congratulations on the bigwin on Sunday. You certainly have earned your place in history.

That, however, is not the sole purpose of this letter. My reason for writing is actually twofold. After watching you lead your team to one of the most inspiring, thrilling and monumental Super Bowl upsets inNational Football League history, something occurred tome that I need to address.

I suppose it would be fair to say that I haven't necessarily been your biggest supporter during your tenurewith theNewYork Giants.Actually, I suppose itwould be fair to say I've been more of a detractor, virtually from the moment you were drafted with the top pick.You have to understand, I was a bit blinded by your lack of big-game success at the college level. In retrospect, I guess I should have given a bitmore credence to the fact that your supporting cast at Ole Miss was not exactly blessed with a crop of All- Americans. Were you really the only player drafted fromthat team?

I also wasn't crazy about the Giants giving up as much as they did to the Chargers for the top pick.And you have to admit, for a while there,with the guys SanDiego drafted becoming Pro Bowl-caliber players virtually overnight, the trade wasn't looking too good.

And when Ben Roethlisberger won the Super Bowl with the Steelers in his rookie season, Imost certainlywas not the only person screaming that theGiants got thewrong guy. And your play wasn't what I would describe as consistent through your first couple of years here, you know? And come on, you know how we NewYork-area fans are about our sports teams. We're lunatics. There's no rhyme or reason that explains the utter ridiculous behavior that tends to accompany our allegiances.

But, with all of that being said, I guess I owe you an apology. And I'm happy to say that it doesn't painme in the slightest to offer you that apology. You've earned it. Your performance down the stretch of the season, and into and throughout the playoffs has been nothing short of remarkable.

I just wish I could say I knew you had it in you all along. I did not. I was not a believer, and to make things worse, I never even gave you the benefit of the doubt before dismissing the notion that you would ever deliver the Super Bowl your old GM, Ernie Accorsi, assured us you would.

Well, you proved me wrong, and for that I wholeheartedly apologize for my doubting you, and amleft eternally thankful.

Well, I don't know about eternally. I mean, I'm still a deranged football fan, so don't go buying into all of this nonsense about you getting a free ride fromus fans for the rest of your career.

When you step on the field again in September for week one, I expect you to be even better. I expect another championship.Anything less is unacceptable.

For now, enjoy the glory that comes with being a world champion and a Super Bowl MVP.

Just don't rest on your laurels there, buddy. Next season is only a few months away.And if you slip up…

All right, I'll ease up. For now.

Sorry I was a jerk. And thanks again for the championship.

Sincerely, A Giants fan