CHAPTER 9
Super Brothers

Super Bowl XLII: February 3, 2008

The New England Patriots couldn’t lose. That’s what everybody was saying. The AFC champions hadn’t lost a game all season. Tom Brady was one of the greatest quarterbacks anyone had ever seen. He’d been named the Super Bowl MVP twice, in 2002 and 2004.

Most people thought the New York Giants weren’t ready. Okay, Eli Manning was a good quarterback, but he was young. He’d never beat Tom Brady. And Eli would never live up to what his brother had done.

Eli’s big brother Peyton had won the Super Bowl MVP the year before. The press had twice voted him the league’s most valuable player. Eli was proud of his brother. But it was hard when people said he’d never be as good.

At the start of the game, everyone thought Brady and the Patriots would win big. But by halftime, people were having second thoughts. The Patriots were leading, but only by four points. The score was 7–3. Giants fans in Arizona’s University of Phoenix stadium were cheering louder. Patriots fans were getting worried.

The score stayed 7–3 until the fourth quarter. Then Eli threw a forty-five-yard pass. The Giants were moving closer to the end zone. Eli completed another pass. Touchdown! Giants fans jumped to their feet. Their roar echoed through the stadium. Giants 10, Patriots 7. It was amazing! It was staggering! The Giants were leading.

With less than three minutes left, the Patriots scored. The score was Tom Brady and the Patriots 14, Eli Manning and the Giants 10.

And then it happened. The Giants started working their way down the field. Eli completed pass after pass. The din in the stadium was deafening. Giants fans were standing, shaking their fists, urging their team on. Fans at home were screaming at their TVs. Eli hurled the ball. It sailed thirty-two yards. David Tyree leaped into the air and grabbed it. He held it against his helmet until he was tackled. People call it the “Helmet Catch,” and it was one of the most amazing catches ever made.

Final score: Giants 17, Patriots 14. Some people say it was the greatest upset in NFL history. Eli Manning was named the game’s MVP. His big brother Peyton had won it the year before, and now it was Eli’s turn.

Eli and Peyton went into the record books. They have both won a Super Bowl MVP award. No other brothers have done that.

Growing Up Manning

Peyton and Eli Manning grew up in a football family. Their father, Archie, played professional football when they were young. Their older brother Cooper played in college.

The Manning brothers played ball with Archie when they were growing up in New Orleans, Louisiana. Archie played quarterback. Peyton and Eli liked throwing the ball, too. That meant Cooper had a lot of passes to receive.

Cooper and Peyton were football stars in high school. Cooper was a winning wide receiver. Peyton was the star quarterback. Eli was younger. He went to their games with his parents. He watched and learned.

Peyton and Eli went on to become professional star quarterbacks. Their parents came to many of their games. Cooper came, too. Back problems had ended Cooper’s own chance at a career in pro football. Still, he is proud of his brothers and cheers them on. He was there for Super Bowl XLVI in 2012 when Eli was named MVP the second time. And he was there when Peyton played in Super Bowl XLVIII on February 2, 2014.

 

No brothers, players or coaches, ever played against each other in a Super Bowl until the “Harbaugh Bowl.”

Jim and John Harbaugh were two of the best coaches in the NFL. They were also brothers. On February 3, 2013, they met in the New Orleans Superdome for Super Bowl XLVII. Jim Harbaugh was the coach of the San Francisco 49ers. John Harbaugh coached the Baltimore Ravens. Some people called it the “Blackout Bowl,” because the Superdome lost its power for more than half an hour. But others called it the “Harbaugh Bowl” or the “Brother Bowl.”

John Harbaugh’s Ravens led for the whole game. As the game wound down, it looked like the 49ers had a chance to win. However, the final score was Ravens 34, 49ers 31.

When the game was over, John Harbaugh was a jumble of mixed-up emotions. On the one hand, he was thrilled about winning. But he also felt sad that his little brother had lost. He was filled with pride and admiration for Jim and the job he had done. “He’s the best coach in football right now,” John said. “Anybody out there who has a brother can understand what that is all about.”