Glauber: Hometown vs. brother? Easy: Eli will root for Peyton

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.

Not that we should be shocked about Eli Manning's rooting interest in the Super Bowl, but he has zero mixed feelings about which team he's pulling for Sunday.

Is it the team he rooted for when his dad was the quarterback - even when Eli would wear a bag over his head - or the team his big brother now plays for? Saints or Colts?

"No questions about it, I will be rooting for Peyton and the Colts," the Giants quarterback said yesterday during a break in a promotion for Gatorade at the Super Bowl Media Center. "I've been cheering for the Colts and Peyton the last 12 years. It goes back to high school, when he first got to the Colts. Having been in the NFL for six years myself and played against the Saints a few times, you quickly lose your home-team loyalty when you start playing for another NFC team."

Sure, he is aware of the significance the Super Bowl holds for the city of New Orleans, which was devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. And yes, being a native of the city and someone who has done his share to help the rebuilding process, he understands this is more than just a football game for the Gulf Coast.

"Obviously, it's big for the city of New Orleans and I'm excited for that aspect," said Manning, who lives in New Jersey but returns to New Orleans several times a year to visit with family and friends. "And I know New Orleans has gone through a lot with Katrina in losing a year at the Superdome, opening up the dome a few years ago and then coming back and making their first Super Bowl. So from that sense, I guess I'm excited for New Orleans."

But it ends there. For Eli, it's all about Peyton. He's even willing to put a score on it. "I think the Colts will win," he said.

Score? "31-24."

Peyton as Super Bowl MVP?

"Sure, why not?"

The last time Peyton was named Super Bowl MVP, Eli followed it up the next year in Super Bowl XLII. He'd be only too happy to see the scenario repeat next year. "Hopefully, that's a routine," he said, "but it's easier said than done. We have a lot of work to do."

Manning has reflected several times on this season's 8-8 disappointment and hasn't come up with many more answers than he had by the end of the year.

"I don't think there's an exact answer," he said. " . . . The end of the season was probably the worst. We were playing our absolute worst football. We lost some tight games early on and some close ones where we were right in the mix that you wish you had back. You have to win those tight games, and that's what we weren't able to do."

Manning played through a foot injury that bothered him for most of the season. There had been concern about developing a stress fracture after the original injury to his plantar fascia, but he believes he avoided that.

"The foot feels good," Manning said. "The rest has felt good this past month or so. It shouldn't be a problem."

Just to make sure, Manning will undergo an MRI next week to "see how it's healing up and make sure everything's the way it's supposed to be."

But first things first: Namely, cheering on the big brother with whom he used to watch the Saints at the Superdome.

"Peyton, Cooper and I would go to every home game when my dad was announcing the games," he said. "They always gave me the worst seats . . . They each got to rotate and bring a friend every game. I never got to bring a friend. My dad would just drop us off and say, 'Don't forget about Eli. Make sure he gets a hot dog. Don't just leave him somewhere.' It was more baby-sitting."

All these years later, with each brother having won a Super Bowl, it is another big moment for the first family of NFL quarterbacks. The legacy continues to grow.