It's official, Eli Manning will be serving as a backup to Geno Smith when the New York Giants take on the Raiders in Oakland. This will mark an end to the longest active NFL starting streak at 210 consecutive regular season games for the Giants' pivot. This streak ties Jim Otto for 9th all-time (although Otto had 13 playoff starts to add on to the streak while Eli only had 12.) The active streak will now shift over to Dallas Cowboys' tight-end Jason Witten, who is still a few seasons away from Eli's streak.
Eli Manning has started every game for the G-Men since November 21 of his draft year, 2004, winning two Super bowls for the franchise during this time. Needless to say, 13 years is an extremely impressive streak to manage in a sport that revolves so heavily around physical contact. To show you just how impressive this streak is, here's a list of what was happening in the world the last time the Giants didn't have Eli at the top of their QB depth chart (November 14th, Kurt Warner started for the Giants).
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was still in theatres
The third movie of a drawn-out, eight-movie super story had just come out a few months earlier and was still thrilling Harry Potter fans on the big screen. This gives us a very visual representation of the length of Manning's streak as the difference in teenage lead characters is very easy to follow. By the eighth and final movie, lead actors Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson were adults - and that movie was released six years ago.
Facebook had not yet turned one year old
Facebook has become a staple in the lives of so many people these days. It's strange to think back to the days that Facebook did not exist. When Eli Manning began his starting streak, almost nobody had heard of Facebook. How many Facebook messages have now been sent while Eli has been starting for the Giants, any guesses?
U2's Vertigo, Eminem's Just Lose It, and Eric Prydz' Call On Me were near the top of the charts
Vertigo feels like it was never not a song. Since Encore, the album Just Lose It came off of, Eminem has released three more platinum-selling studio albums, a number of compilation albums (two of which went platinum), and is releasing yet another in a few weeks. The famous workout video from Call On Me just screams how retro the song is, and therefore how old Eli's streak is.
Here's a look at the rest of the top 10 on November 14, 2004 - the day Kurt Warner started for the Giants ahead of Eli's debut. Lindsay Lohan was about to make her singing debut.
Auston Matthews and Connor McDavid were 7 years old
Matthews and McDavid are a couple baby-faced superstars in the NHL. While their skill is impressively years beyond their age, it is still insane to think that the last time Manning started a game on the bench the two future Hall of Famers were still playing Tyke hockey.
Curtis Martin wins the Rushing Title
Curtis Martin is a legendary running back in the NFL. He sits fourth in rushing yards all-time (14,101), and that includes the factor that his career was cut short by a knee injury. He has since been inducted into the Hall of Fame. The year Manning got his first shot under centre, Martin rushed for 1,697 yards and took the rushing title.
World of Warcraft is released
Technically, Eli Manning's streak is two days older than the most-subscribed computer game of all-time (released on November 23, 2004). In other news, Halo 2 had just been released two weeks earlier.
The NHL cancelled it's season
In a bitter dispute of labour, the NHL decided to cancel the 2004-05 season. Since this lockout, there CBA has managed to be established, disputed, caused another lockout (2012-13), and been resolved once again.
Friends ended
What can only be described as the plateau of 90's television officially ended in May of the offseason before Eli's debut. Is it just us, or does Eli almost kind of look like Ross from the beloved sitcom?
Vince Carter was still a Raptor
Vince Carter is a Raptors icon, dominating the league in the late 90's and early 2000's and bringing so much basketball to the city of Toronto it's unfathomable. It feels like it is forever ago that he was traded to the New Jersey Nets (who have since changed cities, of course) after a bitter relationship collapse with Toronto's upper management. Since the trade, Carter has but run through the mill. He was first seen as a super-villain to the Raps' faithful, jeered heavily anytime he would cross the border into Canada. Since then, the fans in Toronto have come around to respect the NBA legend, culminating in an emotional standing ovation last season.
Ken Jennings Jeopardy Streak Ended
Ken Jennings is the winningest reality show contestant of all time, winning a total of $2,520,700 over his 74 victories. Take that total number of victories and multiply it by three, what do you get? Almost exactly how many NFL football games Eli has started (including playoffs)
The Apprentice began
Business was good in the reality television world back in 2004. When Eli Manning took his first start under centre, American Idol and hosts Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson, and Simon Cowell were about to expose Carrie Underwood to the world. Survivor was still one of the strongest running shows on TV, and everyone's favourite business-driven reality show The Apprentice had just debuted. This is possibly the most shocking event of 2004, seeing as show host Donald Trump went on to create 13 more seasons of the show and also become the President of the United States.
Maybe an even better question, where would our world be when Eli's streak ended if it had started today?
