In the wake of the Dallas Cowboys home opener loss to the New York Giants, we reported that Eli Manning, or possibly an Eli-impostor, had adorned the new stadium with an autograph, complete with the score, the date, and the subtitle "First win in the new stadium." Of course, some Cowboys fans were incensed. We were, well, curious.
Months passed with no word on whether he did or didn't sign Jerry's fancy new stadium. And while I like to think of Eli as a generally reprehensible human being--he is a New York Giant, after all--graffiti doesn't really seem like his modus operandi. Thus the confusion.
Today, finally, some explanation has surfaced.
Manning did sign the wall of the visitors locker room at Cowboys Stadium; however, this was no rogue act against the Cowboys franchise, but rather, a bit of tradition fairly prevalent in NFL stadiums. According to NJ.com, Manning was asked by an employee of the stadium to sign the wall, in hopes of beginning a sort of 'wall of fame' in the bowels of JerryWorld, like those at Lincoln Financial in Philadelphia and Heinz Field in Pittsburgh.
"It’s a pretty common thing. I was asked to sign it," Manning said Thursday. "It wasn’t like I just went there and signed it. I didn’t have a pen on me or anything."
Manning continued, "It was all me," when asked about the subtitle, adding that he was aware that some fans and players might have been unhappy with the sentiment of his inked message.
"Yeah, I’ve heard a few things about it," Manning said. "But they’ll eventually get over it."
