Brett Manney is a staple of U.S. Lacrosse. From Newton, PA, he is one of the strongest defensive players to come out of the United States recently and has had quite the successful indoor career. Manney quickly adapted his University of Delaware style play when he decided to enter the world of box lacrosse. From his start in San Jose to his days in Philadelphia, Brett Manney successfully grew into a stable, reliable and solid defender. He is able to match his Canadian and Iroquois counterparts who often have the box game more readily available to them. He does not back down from the physical game, he has been known to jump into goal to save the game when his goalie is out of position, he is scrappy, and not afraid to throw some punches or use his stick selectively when needed.
He fit in with that gritty style of Philadelphia play that was synonymous with the Wings of the past, of which he was a member from 2011-2014. He still plays this way.
When the Wings moved away from Philadelphia, Manney went too. He has successfully spent the last five seasons in New England with the Black Wolves. His defensive and leadership abilities are so strong that New England selected him to wear the “C” this year.
Many Wings’ fans were hoping that Manney would come back to Philadelphia when the franchise was awarded to Philadelphia, since it is his home state. He attended Holy Ghost Prep. He’s the VP of Event Sales and Recruiting and NXT, in Philadelphia. It would have made sense for him to come back to his hometown team.
However, unlike Kevin Crowley, Manney appears to be quite content in New England. The management, players and fans all seem to agree – Manney needs to remain in New England. The fans adore him. The team needs his direction and hard-hitting style of play. Even though there are “Manney” reasons for him to come back to Philadelphia, he is under contract in New England and appears to have the best plan right now. He can hop in his car or catch a quick flight to Connecticut and then come home hours later and live his life, and he alluded to some of this in the interview below.
Being a Philadelphia fan, and having played at Wells Fargo before, Manney knew what to expect when he made his homecoming wearing the orange, black and white, though he actually seemed disappointed that there were not as many “boos” or “sucks” chants as he raced onto the field.
THB: Talk about what it was like last night, the atmosphere, and how it felt for you being from the Philadelphia area and playing here for so long.
BM: It was definitely nostalgic. I was definitely expecting some more sucks chants and I didn’t get a lot of that.
THB: The announcers seem to be cutting down on that.
BM: It was great coming back here.
THB: What did it feel like?
BM: It was great. There was definitely a little bit of nervous energy coming back here. It felt like it did five, six, seven years ago– just a little different. Definitely different playing and doing everything, but it was great.
THB: What about the crowd?
BM: It was great being back here, in front of this crowd. I’m proud to be in front of one of the best [crowds] in the league, it was great.
THB: The game didn’t go as you planned tonight. How do you prepare for tomorrow when you face Philadelphia again?
BM: We just have to take it one game at a time and get ready to play again tomorrow. This was a tough team. They deserved the win.
