The dismal 2-9 Giants have been under attack by disappointed fans all season. But the team’s latest move to salvage the season — benching star quarterback Eli Manning — has brought upon them the wrath of football fans across the nation. The team announced that this Sunday will mark the end of Manning’s streak of 210 consecutive starts for the team that drafted him with the first pick in 2004.
Few would argue that changes aren’t in order for the team, but by many accounts, sitting the team’s star quarterback in favor of two unproven backups, Geno Smith and Davis Webb, is yet another step backward for the beleaguered franchise.
Speaking to the indignity of Manning’s mid-season benching, Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers called the move “pathetic,” and many agree. One group of particularly enraged fans took their gripe beyond the realm of social media, renting a billboard to convey his message to anyone who happens to be driving eastbound on Route 80 in New Jersey. The billboard is situated close enough to the Giants’ MetLife stadium and practice facility that their proximity can’t be chalked up to coincidence.
This sentiment has existed generally among Giants fans since the first month or so of the season, but given the timing of the billboard’s debut, it’s a pretty clear response to the benching of hometown favorite, Eli Manning, as a panic move.
According to the New York Post, this billboard is one of a trio near the stadium, all rented by a group of disappointed fans.
As the fate of the remainder of Manning’s tenure with the Giants remains in doubt, so too does the question of how long Giants fans are willing to foot the bill to drive home their disappointment.
Something tells us it could be a while.
