SAN FRANCISCO — The two brothers found each other on a loading dock just outside Candlestick Park, surrounded by security guards, family members and a few misplaced fans who couldn’t believe their good luck.
Eli Manning initiated the bro hug, leaning in to embrace his older brother with his right arm. Peyton Manning pulled him close as the cell phone cameras snapped, patting him three times on his freshly minted NFC Championship T-shirt before he said what every Giants fan had to be feeling.
“I’m proud of you.”
They spent just two minutes talking about this incredible NFC Championship Game that put the younger brother back in the Super Bowl — in, of all places, the city where the older brother became a star.
It was a tough 20-17 victory over San Francisco 49ers, an overtime game won on a devastating mistake and a chip-shot field goal, not just the heroics of the winning quarterback.