Why I Cheer For The Giants

We all have this story.  The day we chose our favorite team over all others, the day we became a fan of a certain franchise through thick and thin.  When I became a fan of my favorite teams or athletes I always strayed from what everyone else was cheering for.  When everyone I knew started cheering for the Edmonton Oilers and Wayne Gretzky, I started cheering for the Detroit Red Wings and Steve Yzerman.  When my whole school became obsessed with Hulk Hogan I started cheering for his arch nemisis, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper.  And when the NFL exploded into Canada in 1985 and everybody and their dog started cheering for the Chicago Bears and "The Fridge"...I became a life long fan of the New York Giants.  It all started when my Dad and I were watching a Monday Night Football game where the Giants were taking on the Redskins...that's the game where the greatest defensive player to ever play the game Lawrence Taylor broke both of Joe Theismann's legs with one hit.  I thought, that is the strongest, fastest, baddest man on the damn planet and he's way cooler than Jim McMahon and his shades or the Fridge and his Super Bowl Shuffle...the Giants were my kind of team.  The Giants would lost the NFC Championship that year to the Bears 21-0 but they would come back the following year and whup the Denver Broncos 39-20 in Super Bowl 21. 4 years later, the Giants would upset the heavily favored Buffalo Bills 20-19 in Super Bowl 25.  They did it with their trademark defense, Bill Belichick's  gameplan for stopping the high flying Bills offense currently resides in the football hall of fame.  The next 10 years were horribly forgettable, through the Ray Handley (or He Who Shall Not Be Named to Giants fans) era to the Dan Reeves fiasco, the G-Men couldn't turn things around until the 2000 season.  With a rejuvinated Kerry Collins and a defense led by Michael Strahan, the Giants beat the heavily favored Minnesota Vikings (with Cris Carter and a young Randy Moss) 41-0 to earn a berth in Super Bowl 35.  Unfortunately for the G-Men, their opposition was the Baltimore Ravens and their juggernaught defense led by ferocious Ray Lewis.  Employing a defense that hadn't been seen since, well the 86 Giants...the Ravens stomped us to the tune of 34-7.

The Giants rebuild started in 2004 with the draft day trade for Eli Manning.  Little brother of Peyton, Eli was highly touted out of college and was the consensus #1 pick...unfortunately that picked belonged to the San Diego Chargers.  One of the biggest trades in NFL history would feature Manning going to the Giants in exchange for Philip Rivers (the Giants 4th overall pick), and picks that would end up being used for Shawn Merriman and kicker Nate Kaeding.  For years Chargers fans bragged about getting the better of the deal...but the 2007 season would shut them up for good.  That's the year Eli Manning came into his own and led his wildcard Giants to 11 straight road wins, all the way to Super Bowl 42 and a game against the 18-0 New England Patriots.  The Giants stifled the Patriots all day with their trademark sack happy defense and Eli led a game winning drive in the final 2 minutes that would include the single greatest play in Super Bowl history.  Known by fans as the "Hail Manning", Eli escaped heavy pressure on a third and long play and hucked a hail mary pass to little known Giants wideout David Tyree who brought the ball down trapped against his helmet while a Patriots defender was draped all over him.  A few plays later, Manning found Plaxico Burress all alone in the end zone for the touchdown and the upset win, a win that Giants co-owner John Mara would call the greatest in franchise history.

After late season collapses in 08, 09 and 2010, I thought it would be a long time before I could celebrate my beloved Giants being in the big game again...but the 2011 Giants would have something to say about that.  Whipped by injuries and the league's toughest 2nd half schedule, the Giants were nobody's pick to win the NFC and go to the Super Bowl but after beating the Dallas Cowboys twice to get into the playoffs, dominating the Atlanta Falcons, upsetting the heavily favored 15-1 Green Bay Packers and outlasting the very tough San Fransisco 49er's, the Giants find themselves back on the grandest stage in a rematch with the Patriots.

For the past 26 years I have cheered on my G-Men through the highest of highs and the lowest of lows.  This is the team that originated the forward pass and the gatorade shower, they have played in some of the most memorable games in history like the Sneakers Game and The Greatest Game Ever Played.  They have employed some of the best coaches in NFL history, from Vince Lombardi and Tom Ladry to Bill Parcells and Tom Coughlin. They are the only team to win Super Bowls in 3 consecutive decades and this year could win one in a 4th.  They have made the playoffs more than any other franchise and on Sunday, February 5 they have a shot at their 4th Super Bowl title.  I will have my preview of Super Bowl 46 up later, I just wanted to give a little insight into why I cheer for the Big Blue Wrecking Crew and always will...go Giants!