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Talking Golf with the Super Bowl MVP

As I watched Eli Manning and the New York Giants shatter the New England Patriots perfect season to win Super Bowl XLII 17-14 Sunday night, I couldn't help but think back to my chat with Eli this past July.

Of course, this was before the start of his season, when training camp was days away. The day I met Eli, he was promoting the HSBC Women's World Match Play Championship at Grand Central Station. While the crowd attending at the time was sparse, numerous questions swirled around Eli and his team leadership ability heading into the 2007-08 season.

At the time, I was struck by Eli's calm, unruffled demeanor as he described what football skills he brought to the tee. "Visualize the shot," he said at the time. "I always try to do that in football -- you visualize the throw. Obviously in golf you don't have a guy running up trying to sack you, so you have an opportunity to really visualize what you're going to do before you actually do it." I was reminded of that comment Sunday evening, when Eli managed to wiggle free from his opponents and throw an impressive 33-yard pass to David Tyree in the fourth quarter, then went on to sail a 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress for the win.

Eli's brother Peyton, who led the Colts to the Super Bowl XLI title last season, cheered on his brother's win at the stadium. I remembered Eli mentioning that he plays a few rounds with his brothers and dad, Archie, in the off-season. I remembering asking Eli who was the better player, and he just laughed. No matter how each fares on the course, at least in the arena Eli and Peyton now stand on equal ground, as Super Bowl MVPs.