NEW ORLEANS — This time, Mario Manningham merely is along for the ride, but he is confident his 49ers will get him his second championship ring in two years.
“I’m just glad I’m here,’’ Manningham said yesterday. “The team’s going to win. I’m rooting for them a hundred percent. I’m behind them. I can’t go out there. I’m cool. I just hope they just go out there and do their thing.”
Manningham cannot do his thing. The former Giants receiver, and Super Bowl XLVI hero, is two weeks removed from reconstructive knee surgery after tearing his ACL in Week 16 at Seattle. He is a bystander for Super Bowl XLVII, but he was so much more than that last year for the Giants.
It was one year ago that Manningham came down with one of the most difficult and memorable receptions in Super Bowl history, making an over-the-shoulder, fourth-quarter grab while somehow tip-toeing the left sideline. The 38-yard gain got the Giants started on their game-winning drive in a 21-17 come-from-behind victory over the Patriots.
It was the most meaningful catch in Manningham’s career, one of the most significant catches the Super Bowl ever has seen. But it’s not a topic of discussion Manningham will engage in.
“I’m tired of talking about it, for real,’’ Manningham said during Super Bowl Media Day inside the Superdome. “The game’s over. There’s about to be a new game. I know people want to talk about it, but I’m tired of talking about it.”
For the second straight year, Manningham’s team made it to the Super Bowl, but the circumstances are quite different.
“I can’t complain,’’ Manningham said. “I’m a little banged up, but I can’t complain at this time of the year to be down here. I’m trying to double up.”
By double up, Manningham means get a second ring.
After four years with the Giants, Manningham in free agency signed with the 49ers in the offseason, but he did not have an impactful first season in San Fran, catching 42 passes for 449 yards and one touchdown.
“The teams are different,” he said. “We [the Giants] got hot last year. I feel like this year, we [the 49ers] played hot from the jump.”