Eli Manning‘s memory is already starting to go at the ripe age of 32.
Almost a decade ago, the Giants quarterback made it crystal clear that he had no interest in playing for the Chargers in the days leading up to the draft. San Diego snagged him anyway, selecting him first overall in the 2004 draft, and after one incredibly uncomfortable photograph, the quarterback’s time as a Charger was over as he was then traded to the Giants.
The awkwardness was short-lived, with Manning being shipped to New York before he was even able to put on his San Diego hat, but as Manning prepares to face the man who he was traded for, Philip Rivers, on Sunday, he can’t explain why he was so against playing for the Chargers.
“I forgot, I think,” Manning said via the Newark Star-Ledger. “I just can’t remember, it’s been 10 years. It slipped my mind.”
Manning wasn’t able to recollect his strong opposition to joining San Diego, but he was able to provide a perfectly good explanation as to why he wouldn’t don the cap.
“Did I put the hat on? No? I didn’t put the hat on?” Manning asked. “I just, my hair was feeling good that day. I didn’t want to mess it up.”
Manning certainly had something against the team that calls San Diego home, but he revealed that he has nothing but kind words for the city itself.
“I have nothing against San Diego as a city,” Manning said. “We had our rookie symposium there and besides that, we’ve had a few other things, I know it’s a beautiful city and great weather. There’s a lot of great things to it.”
Photo via Twitter/@BobCarrNFL
