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The Manning brothers are working blue, and in so doing paying homage to the man who owned the Luv Ya Blue Houston Oilers.
On Monday night, Eli was explaining the reception that his Giants got in Philadelphia (as demonstrated in the attached photo). To make his point, Eli fired off the double-barreled middle fingers for the cameras.
As he did it, he expressed an assumption that the middle fingers would be blurred. He apparently was later informed as to the way live TV works. Via the New York Daily News, Eli later addressed the gesture.
“Earlier I gave the double bird, I’m sorry, I guess that’s frowned upon,” Manning said. “That’s what a 9-year-old did to me, I thought I could do it back.”
When Bud Adams did it 12 years ago at a game, the NFL fined him a whopping $250,000. Eli surely will face no such consequence.
As to those wondering about a possible FCC fine, that only applies to broadcast networks, not cable. There’s no governmental sanction for anything Peyton or Eli (or their guests) say or do.
If anything, it’s a benefit for the Manningcast. It creates more buzz and higher ratings. The show had tremendous growth from Week One to Week Two. Week Three likely will be strong, too. However, it will be four weeks until the Manning can build a bigger audience and/or make more inappropriate gestures.
Via Jimmy Traina of SI.com, Peyton said last night that the Manningcast will press pause for the next three weeks. The Manningcast resumes in Week Seven, for the Saints at the Seahawks.