Super Bowl 2012: Eli Manning Is Playing in Peyton's City for a Title

The 2012 Super Bowl in Indianapolis will have an interesting side story featuring brothers Eli and Peyton Manning.

Younger brother Eli will be playing to have one more Super Bowl ring than his older brother Peyton in Indianapolis, a city that the latter has put on the map in the past decade.

The brothers are close to one another from the outside looking in, and there’s nothing on the surface to show that the two have a hardcore sibling rivalry. However, there has to be something that crosses Eli’s mind—that little evil thought on his shoulder “I can one-up my brother in a town that’s his.”

Being the older brother in my family, it’s not hard to fathom that Eli would love to have bragging rights for at least a couple years. He has to be motivated by the possibility regardless of what he tells everyone else.

Big brother may not be back. It could be for all the marbles in the Manning trophy room.

Could Peyton follow the front office staff out at Indy with the team eying stud Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck with the No. 1 pick in the 2012 NFL draft? Retirement may not be out of the question either with the neck injury he has.

Rumors have flown that the New York Jets, Arizona Cardinals and Miami Dolphins may have interest if he’s released by the Indianapolis Colts. He would be a great fit in New York—where he would be playing in the same stadium as Eli.

The sibling connection to his brother in Indianapolis must be somewhere in his mind. It’s noteworthy for the football world. When has a younger sibling of a legendary NFL quarterback been able to play for a title in a city his brother has made famous WITH the chance to win one-up him?

Never.

If Eli does win Super Bowl XLVI on Feb. 4, look for Peyton to be more motivated than ever to win another Super Bowl unless the neck injury forces him to retire.

Being one-upped by little brother will do that to big brother.