I have been a New York Football Giants fan since I was maybe 5 or 6 years old. My dad, was a Giants fan, my brother is a Giants fan, and my daughter is a Giants fan.
I remember going to a game at the old Yankee stadium with my dear friend Gary Allen. We must have been 13 or 14. His uncle Lenny (a lifelong fan) gave us the tickets. Anyway we took a train into NYC, got on a subway, and arrived at the stadium. It wasn't named for a bank or telecommunications company, heck it wasn't even named for the Giants. This was the mecca of all sports stadiums, this was Yankee stadium. I don't remember the score, but I believe the Giants got blown out by the Washington Redskins. It didn't really matter, we were at the game, and it was amazing.
The Giants were really lousy during my childhood, but that didn't matter much because I bled blue. I yelled at Allie Sherman, I yelled at Fran Tarkenton, I yelled at Homer Jones, I yelled at Pete Gogolak, I yelled at them all. But I still rooted, and I still do.
I won a contest on the Sonny Fox show. Who remembers Sonny Fox? Well you can Google him. Anyway, I won two tickets to see the Giants practice at Yankee Stadium. My mother, who wasn't driving at the time, took me to the stadium by train and subway. It was great sitting so close to the field. I also won an autographed football! Out of all the kids, I won this great ball which I still possess today.
You can see why my allegiance to this team is so strong. a lifetime full of memories, some great seasons and some horrible ones. I didn't begin rooting for this team because I was a front runner. If that would have been the case I would have been a Packers, Raiders, or Dolphins fan. No, I rooted for this team because they were in my blood, and that's why I bleed Giants Blue.
No matter what happens tomorrow, I will still love this team. With a win comes euphoria, a loss devastation. But one thing is certain, there is always next season, and the season after that, and after that, and..........
Hi Mike, I've also been a long time Giant fan. The Giants only had two winning seasons between 1964 and 1980 and never made the playoffs. There were so few bright spots/players. Ron Johnson was the first Giants to gain 1,000 yards. Fran Tarkenton over the middle to Bob Tucker was my favorite play! The Super Bowl back in those days was for other teams...like the Cowboys, Packers, Steelers, Vikings, Dolfins, Redskins, Raiders, etc. Many teams but never the Giants. Tomorrow will be our 5th Super Bowl and back in my youth I would have never thought that this would have been possible. Win or lose tomorrow I'll still be a proud Giants fan. GO GIANTS...BIG BLUE...G-MEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Steve Kraemer
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting Steve. I loved Bob Tucker as well.
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