I wanted to write something about the game next Sunday, without actually writing something about the game. Wary of The Jinx I was looking for a different angle. So I thought to compare the quarterbacks as they do commercials and otherwise appear on TV. Eli is particularly bland in a post game interview. After the lopsided win over the Falcons, he seemed to go out of his way to avoid saying anything controversial. On the other side of the field, they've shown that State Farm commercial so much around here that it seems rather obnoxious. I know they've got a sequel now, and I saw that some Packer fans love it. But it didn't do anything for me. Presumably State Farm wants customers who are not Packer fans.
I did my "research" on this by going to YouTube and watching more spots than I had originally intended. What I learned was this. The Manning family is a franchise. They market each other really well and are quite professional about it. For example, there is an interview that Archie is doing on some early morning show, and Eli is calling in before he goes to football practice. There are at least two ESPN spots with Eli and Peyton, that plays on the sibling rivalry. That gives Eli a big advantage. I watched Eli on Letterman the week after the Super Bowl win in 2008. The audience was really pumped up for him, so he was surprisingly good, comparing the victory to the Miracle On Ice.
Then I watched Aaron Rodgers, first on the Jimmy Kimmel show, then with Ellen Degeneres. He too was pretty good. Apparently he's quite a prankster, at least in part to keep his teammates loose. He seemed to enjoy himself in this setting.
So, on this, I'd say it's a tie. They'll have to find some other way to seek advantage.
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