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Eli Manning on Dealing With Eagles Fans in Philadelphia: 'It's a Different Culture'

Eli Manning is not going to like his next reception in Philadelphia.

Be proud, Eagles fans, you're at the top of Eli Manning's list.

At an NYIT Center for Sports Medicine/Head Injury Association panel discussion moderated by Max Gomez, Manning talked about which NFL road venue was his least favorite to play at.

And the answer may not surprise you. It's Philadelphia.

But what makes Philly such a daunting place to play for a two-time Super Bowl MVP? Is it the noise? Is it the types of comments they yell? Do they throw snowballs at him as if he was Santa Claus and it's 1968 all over again?

"You go there, and that 9-year-old kid is giving you the double finger," Manning said, according to Neil Best of Newsday. "Not a thumbs-up. Not, 'We're No. 1.' And he said something about my mom; I had to Google what it was. It's just different. It's a different culture."

That's right. It's the kids that help throw Eli off his game at Lincoln Financial Field.

But it's been 15 years that Manning has taken at least one trip to Philadelphia each season. Is this something that changed over time? Has it always been this way? Did it get better or worse as he got deeper into his career?

"Now I see him and he's got his 9-year-old kid with him," Manning said. "Same deal. It runs in the families down there."

So it's generational.

Manning also mentioned during the panel that the hardest hit he took in his career came in his first ever game. It was in Philadelphia, of course, and the man responsible was defensive end Jerome McDougle.

"It was my welcome-to-the-NFL play," he said. "Fifteen seasons later I have not taken a bigger hit. That's a good thing. I do not know if I could take that hit now."

Add in the fact that Manning is 10-20 for his career against the Eagles in the regular season and 0-2 against them in the playoffs, it seems like Philadelphia really has his number.

Yeah, he alone has won twice as many Super Bowls as the entire franchise, but that's inconsequential to this conversation.