Hi everybody my name is Luke and I am a recovering Eli Manning hater.

Let me start by saying that I have no memories of Phil Simms.  From what my father and grandfather have told me he was some sort of Peyton Manning/ Tom Brady hybrid except with superior grit and determination to win.  My first impression of what constituted a New York Giants quarterback was the venerable Dave Brown, so you can hopefully understand my pessimistic stance toward Giant QBs.  I recall watching Sportscenter on Sunday nights and sitting in awe at highlights of Brett Favre hit receivers in stride.  It was as if I was witnessing a different sport.  Where's the part where the fat guys jump on top of the little guy in the low numbered jersey?  

None of these guys were flat-out terrible, they  just couldn't be counted on to win you the game.  I hoped their screw-ups could be kept to minimum so we could eek out a win on he backs of a Tiki or Rodney Hampton.  Kent Graham and Danny Kanell were so painfully mediocre they made Trent Dilfer look like playmaker.  That is where I was coming from when Eli stepped in.  For years when I watched the QB drop back I felt an impending sense of doom, which all to often was actualized.  So with Eli his successes seemed irrelevant, because I just knew that disaster was around the corner. And when he made a mistake it became another part of the anti-Eli narrative I had been building.

II could always take a step back and see what he had actually accomplished in his career.  He quarterbacked the Giants to two playoff seasons in his first two full years.  Not bad, but going to the playoffs doesn't mean your very good.  Sorry guys, but winning isn't a great barometer for a QB.  Danny Kanell had a 10-5-1 season and made the playoffs, as did Kent Graham.  

Something changed for me in the playoffs.  I suddenly felt confident when the Giants had the ball.  Instead of hoping for a few first downs and then playing the field position game, I felt that they were actually gonna be putting points on the board.  I still remained wary of Eli even through the Super Bowl.  By the beginning of this year all that Eli-anxiety had passed, I guess winning a Super Bowl gives a rest to all of your sports related neurosis.