The NY Giants and Eli Manning: A Brief Study

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It started at the beginning of this NFL season with a direct answer to a direct question to the aforementioned QB:  Q: "Do you consider yourself and elite quarterback?"; A: "Yes" (or something along those lines). Eli Manning's honesty seemed to generate much controversy and public opinion, with many public opinion disagreeing with his statement. 

Flash forward to Super Bowl XLVI and the American public opinion may need to be revisited about Eli Manning-at least when it comes to the superior mental game of the Giant's quarterback. While I viewed the game fairly unbiased towards the result, some interesting observations were made during this evening' contest in Indianapolis:

• Obviously, Manning believes in both himself as an athlete- regardless of outside influences, he maintained a confidence that produced a Super Bowl win.
• Perhaps more importantly, self-belief onl by goes so far if you don't believe in your teammates. When interveiwed pre-game, Manning said "this game is for the team, we're a family around here". The Giants appeared composed for the majority of the game when emotion seemed to drive the Patriots at various junctures.
• An ability to treat each play as a singular event was apparent. While he made some bad throws, he appeared unaffected and continued to work the task at hand. This is crucial to consistency and success in any sport.
• In comparison to Tom Brady, the opposing New England Patriot's quarterback appeared at many junctures-emotionless (or as psychologist Jim Loehr would describe it: "tough acting"). Insight into his thoughts were anybody's guess and this very often makes a statement to opponents. 

Whether it is football or figure skating, consider working on these attributes in your own mental game. Who knows where it can take you? 

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• Football
• Psychology

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