Arguably, the most glorified position in all of sports is the Quarterback. Usually, as a quarterback goes, so goes the team. A quarterback should be fiery when necessary, but also calm under pressure. He should demand attention and make the right decisions at the right time. Kind of like a dad.
I recently attended an event for The March of Dimes and Oral B, which just released the new Oral B-Black – the slickest toothbrush I’ve ever seen. (Like something James Bond would use to brush his teeth.) Anyway, while at the event, I was able to briefly chat with the two-time Super Bowl MVP and Oral B spokesperson, Eli Manning, on parenting. Manning is the father to two daughters: Ava (3) and Lucy (almost 1).
Everyone has a rough day at work now and then, and not bringing stress home from work is difficult for anyone. So I had to know how Eli relieves his stress, because if you followed the New York Giants last year, you know that Eli probably had a lot of stress. And being a high profile quarterback, Eli shouldered a lot of blame, much more than he deserved. As it turns out, he learned how to deal with stress from his dad.
“Something my dad talked about, not bringing your work home. He never did that playing with the Saints. I try to do the same and not bring back what happens in a game or a practice to my family. Especially with my kids. They don’t know what I do or whether I’ve won or lost. There excited to see me come home. It isn’t hard. It’s what I tried to do at the beginning and now it’s second nature.”
And luckily for Eli, his kids help ease the difficult moments at “the office.”
“When I see my kids, they’re happy and smiling and that automatically puts a smile on my face.”
New York City is, in my opinion, the greatest city in the world. But for celebrities and athletes, it can be the cruelest. I often have wondered how athletes handle the super-passionate fans and media constantly criticizing their every move. When I asked Manning how he and his family deal with these pressures, he shrugged as if they were not a big deal.
“We do pretty well. My wife has been around some interesting comments. I tell her, I’m a big boy. I can handle that, but sometimes she can be pretty protective of me. They can say things and I say ‘don’t let it get to you. Don’t worry about that.’ I try not to put them in bad situations. We try to remember there are good days and bad days.”
I’ve heard many interviews with Eli and his family over the years. You can’t help but admire the level-headed way they handle themselves. I’ve interviewed some people and have been blown away by how different they are in real life than what their public persona would suggest. With Eli, what you see is what you get all the time. And by the way he talks about his father, Archie Manning, you can tell he gets it from his dad.
As part of Oral B’s recent twitter campaign, #PowerOfDad, dads from around the world talked about their “dad power.” My “dad power” is coaching my kid’s sports team, comforting them during the hard times, and play around with them. But I also hope that I am able to provide them with the tools they will need later on in life. From my conversation with Eli, I could tell that his father did that for him.
Also, Oral B has a great commercial featuring dads and their kids. Here is a link. http://youtu.be/v3z3rbcJ7Qk I dare you to watch with dry eyes.
For a coupon to buy your own Oral B-Black, click here.
Disclosure: I partnered with Oral-B and Life of Dad, LLC for the #PowerofDad Father’s Day promotion and was compensated for my involvement.
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Wonderful article about Eli Manning! He’s a really good guy. It’s nice when a writer can write about him in a sincere and thoughtful manner. As super star athletes go, Eli is rare. Good stuff
Thank you for the comment. Eli was also very kind to my son during the interview.