Manning finally getting a chance to play in Dome

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP)—Mention the Saints and the city of New Orleans and the memories come quickly for Eli Manning(notes).

The youngest son of Saints legend Archie Manning, Eli Manning went to the Superdome almost every weekend the Saints were home, and his father even took him to a road game every now and then.

When the Saints won their first playoff game in franchise history in 2000 against the defending Super Bowl champion St. Louis Rams, Eli Manning was there.

Ask Easy Eli about some of his early heroes and the names roll off his tongue.

Quarterbacks Bobby Hebert and John Fourcade, the ‘Dome Patrol’ of linebackers Sam Mills, Pat Swilling, Vaughn Johnson and Rickey Jackson. Lots of great defenses.

And it was only roughly 12 minutes from his home.

Manning and his sore right heel will return to the Superdome on Sunday for his first game in the building as a player when he leads the New York Giants (5-0) against the Saints (4-0) in a matchup of two of the NFL’s five remaining unbeaten teams.

“I don’t think it will be any different for me emotionally,” Manning said Wednesday after taking a limited number of snaps in practice as a precaution against aggravating his heel. “Once you get out there on the field and get your settings and surroundings, it’s about going out there and playing good football. I don’t think I’ll be crying before the game.”

The only tears he might shed would result from being kicked in his right heel, and you can bet that no matter how much his plantar fascia injury hurts, he will not be coming out of the game.

After all, this is a chance to play in front of his folks again.

The job of getting enough tickets belongs to Archie, even though Eli will have to come up with a couple himself.

“New Orleans is a special place for me,” Manning said. “It’s where I grew up, was born and raised for the first 18 years of my life before I went off to college.”

Manning also was there when New Orleans needed him.

When the Big Easy flooded in 2005 when federal levees failed after Hurricane Katrina, Manning got on a plane and went to Baton Rouge and visited shelters to speak to many of the displaced. He later went to New Orleans to see the damage and check on the homes of his parents and brother, Cooper.

“I love New Orleans,” Manning said. “I had a great childhood growing up there and wanted to do something, anything that I could to help out the city, anything to help out the people who have always supported me in New Orleans, in high school through college, even into the NFL, fans in New Orleans who have rooted for me and kept up with me and Peyton. It’s a special place and I wanted to do anything to help out the people of the city.”

The feeling is mutual, said Saints coach Sean Payton, a former Giants assistant.

“There’s always an attachment to the Manning family, starting with Archie’s success and then Peyton and Eli’s success,” Payton said. “… For a city like New Orleans, when one of their own goes on to have success people take pride in that. I think that’s a positive and I think the people of New Orleans view that as one of their own that’s doing well and having success.”

While Eli now lives in New Jersey, he is a frequent visitor to New Orleans, taking part in fundraisers and coming back every summer for the Manning passing academy at Nicholls State in Thibodaux, La.

While home, it’s not unusual to see him at fancy restaurants. It’s just as common to see him in shorts and a T-shirt with friends from Isidore Newman School at Fat Harry’s or the Kingpin—local bars in uptown New Orleans—having a couple of drinks or playing bar shuffleboard.

“The city is doing well,” said Manning, who admitted some sections of the city have yet to rebound. “From what I see when I go back home, it’s always a fun time and it’s got a great personality to the city and it’s always a good time, great restaurants, it’s very entertaining.”

This week, though, it’s all business.

Manning is only taking the snaps his coaches think are most important to get him ready for the game.

His sore right heel did not get any worse playing less than a half in the Giants’ blowout win over the Oakland Raiders. But coach Tom Coughlin is being cautious, noting Manning will do a little more work in Thursday’s practice and step it up again on Friday.

Manning got a list of the plays to be run on Wednesday at practice and chose the ones he wanted to run. If there was a new play or something a little different, Manning got the snap. The rest fell to David Carr(notes).

“Ever since I have been in the NFL, (I looked forward to) the opportunity to play in the Superdome and go back to New Orleans,” Manning said. “It’s been a long wait; usually you don’t have to wait this long to play an NFC team. We missed an opportunity a few years ago due to Katrina. I’m excited about going back there and playing in the Superdome, but also the environment of the game. It is going to be a good game, the fans are going to be fired up for it, so I am looking forward to it.”

Manning knows not to expect many cheers. But he’ll get his share, especially if Archie comes up with enough tickets.

AP Sports Writer Brett Martel in New Orleans contributed to this report.