I remember watching the game on tv and thought what a wild scene it must be there live. Who was there for the game where the fans started to throw snowballs onto the field and the newspaper had that guys face plastered all over the place.
and it went from amusing to scary in the stands. My seats were lower level end zone (like my current seats at MetLife). I took 3 of my friends with me and we were in our 20s at the time. My one idiot friend wore a Anthony Miller jersey. Not because he was a Chargers fan, but because he was on his fantasy team.
Anyway, because he wore the jersey, we had snowballs coming in our direction from the upper deck. I remember I had a kid sitting behind he and he got nailed in the back of the head with a snowball and was crying.
The snowballs didn't really start for a while and got worse as the game went on. If you remember, Shaun Gayle picked off a Dave Brown pass and ran towards my end zone. If you can find the highlights, he had no one around him, but he ducked his head and covered the ball at around the 20 because snowballs were flying at him and exploding all around as fans had time to pack them and hurl them in his direction.
As for the snowball throwing fan who got his picture taken, if I remember correctly, his ex-wife turned him in when they had a manhunt for him. This was in the days before social media. I think the Giants took his season tix away, but if I remember he got them back.
is in the background in the upper right hand side of this picture. We didnt figure it out for years, it was discovered the next time the Chargers came to play against the Giants here.
hell, I was a Giants game in Yankee Stadium and a ref was hit in the head with a GLASS beer bottle from the stands. He was laid out and carted off on a stretcher.
I was young. There was a ton of people having snowball fights in the mezzanine circle things on the side of the stadium.
My brother grabbed a big chunk of snow and dropped it on some dudes head a few levels below us, as I'm in the upper deck.
It was fun.
You sound like a real winner you could have killed the guy...
I was like 11 and my brother was probably 9. We didn't throw any iceballs. He grabbed a chunk of fluffy snow. It was really harmless. The whole mezzanine was like a giant snowball fight.
We didn't throw anything when we were at our seats, just in the mezzanine circle things.
The team absolutely sucked, and its probably one of my first memories of going to an NFL game.
you might remember that back in the mid 1990s, they had a promotion with UPS for the "Delivery of the game". Well, in this game, the Giants jumped out 17-3 and then predictably shit the bed. But things with snowballs didn't pick up until they did the delivery of the game. A UPS guy would give a signed football so some lucky fan. That fan in this case was wearing a Chargers jersey. As soon as he got the football and stood up, he got nailed by snowballs from everywhere and ran up the aisle as snowballs were flying at him.
After that, it was all over. Snowballs were first thrown around the stands, by fans at each other. As as the game got worse, they started flying on the field and at the Chargers bench, who had their equipment manager get knocked out. If I remember he was a Vietnam Vet who didn't get a scratch in his tour there and he got knocked out by an iceball in NJ.
I remember Bob Shepard coming on the PA system and saying if the snowballs continued the Giants would be forced to forfeit the game. I think Reeves afterwards was so pissed he said he wouldn't have argued if they did call the game.
I wasn't at that one, but I WAS at The Garden the night Ranger fans threw thousands of plastic coffee mugs on the ice as the game ended, pelting players from both teams.
They'd been shutout by Boston the previous game, this was a home game against Philly, I'm guessing 1988-89 - it was plastic mug night! We got plastic mugs with a sticky base for your dashboard and a white mug with a Ranger logo on it.
As the seconds wound down, Rangers again being shutout, the first mug flew from the Blue seats, then a few more and then it was a fucking downpour from every section. The goalie - I think it was Beez - cowering in his net.
Lunacy.
So yeah, given that memory, the snowball game didn't shock me and I'm glad I missed it.
I was there. It was my first game I ever attended. It was insane. I remember a guy dressed as Santa getting continuously pelted with ice balls and for some reason he continued to egg it on.
it sounds like there were almost 2 separate things going on: (1) people throwing snowballs made of fluffy snow for fun; and (2) dickheads throwing ice balls with the potential to hurt people.
it sounds like there were almost 2 separate things going on: (1) people throwing snowballs made of fluffy snow for fun; and (2) dickheads throwing ice balls with the potential to hurt people.
There really weren't any "fluffy" snowballs. It was all melted slush under the seats from a storm the day before.
I was at the NJ Generals game when the same thing happened Â
The visitor sideline was just pelleted with snow/ice. What was a bit funny was at halftime they had an open car riding around with the cheerleaders waving. Whenever they approached a different section they would come under a ice ball attack. It was like the wave but with everyone flinging a snowball. Just nuts.
It was the one and only Giants game at The Meadowlands. We sat on the opposite side of the field from where the pick-6 happened.
I did not participate in throwing any snowballs, But if I had, my seats were so bad there would have been no danger of hitting anyone on the field. Heck, I probably couldn't have hit anyone in the first row of the upper deck (we were three rows from the top).
it sounds like there were almost 2 separate things going on: (1) people throwing snowballs made of fluffy snow for fun; and (2) dickheads throwing ice balls with the potential to hurt people.
There really weren't any "fluffy" snowballs. It was all melted slush under the seats from a storm the day before.
At the seats there was slush. The snow out at the Mezzanine was different, not completely cleared from what I remember.
Sec 334. My uncle's seats. IIRC, it snowed a day or 2 prior to the game but nothing the day or night before or the morning of. That they didn't have any arrangement to clear the snow from the stands was an embarrassment. We got to the seats and had to spend like 20 minutes clearing all the snow away. In Buffalo they used to give free tickets to people to come help with snow removal (not sure if they still do). I just remember a lot of people complaining that they didn't do anything that day. It would have greatly reduced the chaos that ensued.
but that game pisses me off to this day. My father was the biggest Giants fan I have ever known. He was quite sick at that point and was nearing the end. I watched the game with him and he passed away about 3 hours after the game ended. His last memories of his beloved team (I found a notepad after he passed where he was writing down who he thought would be the backup olinemen the next year written a day or two before he passed. He LOVED the Giants) and that was the last time he saw them and we talked about what an embarrassment that game was. Definitely not our proudest moment as Giant fans.
Froze my ass off, didn’t throw any snowballs, but happily leaned far to my left so the dick in the Cowboys jacket 2 rows ahead of me could get his fair share of snow/ice balls. That star was a great target.
The best memory I have was watching some poor bastard in a Marty Lyons Jets jersey get absolutely pummeled as he climbed the upper deck stairs with his hands full of consecessions. Had good form, kept his head down but just had no protection - went to a knee at one point but kept going. Sack Exchange indeed....
you might remember that back in the mid 1990s, they had a promotion with UPS for the "Delivery of the game". Well, in this game, the Giants jumped out 17-3 and then predictably shit the bed. But things with snowballs didn't pick up until they did the delivery of the game. A UPS guy would give a signed football so some lucky fan. That fan in this case was wearing a Chargers jersey. As soon as he got the football and stood up, he got nailed by snowballs from everywhere and ran up the aisle as snowballs were flying at him.
After that, it was all over. Snowballs were first thrown around the stands, by fans at each other. As as the game got worse, they started flying on the field and at the Chargers bench, who had their equipment manager get knocked out. If I remember he was a Vietnam Vet who didn't get a scratch in his tour there and he got knocked out by an iceball in NJ.
I remember Bob Shepard coming on the PA system and saying if the snowballs continued the Giants would be forced to forfeit the game. I think Reeves afterwards was so pissed he said he wouldn't have argued if they did call the game.
Matt is exactly right, except the winner of the ball wasn't wearing a Chargers jersey - he was wearing a Steelers jersey and started taunting the crowd. That's really when all hell broke loose.
I was sitting toward the north end zone on the Giants sideline in the lower bowl. My buddy and I could not get up and had to stay covered under our coats for the majority of the second half. My friend tried to get up and make a break for it at one point but he was met with a barrage of ice balls which pummeled him so he was forced to sit back down and take cover.
i didn't go and i gave my friend the tickets that Friday night and that night while he was getting on the Van Wyck expressway leaving my house someone threw a snowball and cracked his front windshield so the next day he got the window fixed instead of going to the game .
We had to stop one of our idiot crew from hurling snow balls. it was all the giants fault for failing to dig out the stadium, something that had happened over the prior few years when there were heavy, late storms.
The one amusing aspect was some drunk Jet fan who was standing up yelling at Giant fans and the light crowd upstairs that surrounded him pelted him from five directions. the one guy in the stadium who deserved to get pelted.
I was there, mezzanine level, about 25 yard line. I guy about 10 seats away picked up jagged ice "frisby" and tossed it towards the field. He hit the San Diego equipment manager in the head and knocked him out cold. I called security, and when they came, they took both the ice thrower and me down into the bowels of the stadium, hauled him in front of a judge in made me say what I saw. They booked the guy, and then told both of us to leave at the same time. I told them I would wait, let the guy go out first (it was the 4th quarter and I missed it). I had to come back to East Rutherford in court a couple of weeks later to testify. The guy was fined, I believe. All in all, a very very unpleasant experience, but I had no idea that a sort of kangaroo court was in the old stadium, nor that there was a "secret" elevator to get down to it.
it sounds like there were almost 2 separate things going on: (1) people throwing snowballs made of fluffy snow for fun; and (2) dickheads throwing ice balls with the potential to hurt people.
you might remember that back in the mid 1990s, they had a promotion with UPS for the "Delivery of the game". Well, in this game, the Giants jumped out 17-3 and then predictably shit the bed. But things with snowballs didn't pick up until they did the delivery of the game. A UPS guy would give a signed football so some lucky fan. That fan in this case was wearing a Chargers jersey. As soon as he got the football and stood up, he got nailed by snowballs from everywhere and ran up the aisle as snowballs were flying at him.
THE UPS guy was pelted also. IT was insane.
After that, it was all over. Snowballs were first thrown around the stands, by fans at each other. As as the game got worse, they started flying on the field and at the Chargers bench, who had their equipment manager get knocked out. If I remember he was a Vietnam Vet who didn't get a scratch in his tour there and he got knocked out by an iceball in NJ.
I remember Bob Shepard coming on the PA system and saying if the snowballs continued the Giants would be forced to forfeit the game. I think Reeves afterwards was so pissed he said he wouldn't have argued if they did call the game.
you might remember that back in the mid 1990s, they had a promotion with UPS for the "Delivery of the game". Well, in this game, the Giants jumped out 17-3 and then predictably shit the bed. But things with snowballs didn't pick up until they did the delivery of the game. A UPS guy would give a signed football so some lucky fan. That fan in this case was wearing a Chargers jersey. As soon as he got the football and stood up, he got nailed by snowballs from everywhere and ran up the aisle as snowballs were flying at him.
THE UPS guy was pelted also. IT was insane.
After that, it was all over. Snowballs were first thrown around the stands, by fans at each other. As as the game got worse, they started flying on the field and at the Chargers bench, who had their equipment manager get knocked out. If I remember he was a Vietnam Vet who didn't get a scratch in his tour there and he got knocked out by an iceball in NJ.
I remember Bob Shepard coming on the PA system and saying if the snowballs continued the Giants would be forced to forfeit the game. I think Reeves afterwards was so pissed he said he wouldn't have argued if they did call the game.
you might remember that back in the mid 1990s, they had a promotion with UPS for the "Delivery of the game". Well, in this game, the Giants jumped out 17-3 and then predictably shit the bed. But things with snowballs didn't pick up until they did the delivery of the game. A UPS guy would give a signed football so some lucky fan. That fan in this case was wearing a Chargers jersey. As soon as he got the football and stood up, he got nailed by snowballs from everywhere and ran up the aisle as snowballs were flying at him.
After that, it was all over. Snowballs were first thrown around the stands, by fans at each other. As as the game got worse, they started flying on the field and at the Chargers bench, who had their equipment manager get knocked out. If I remember he was a Vietnam Vet who didn't get a scratch in his tour there and he got knocked out by an iceball in NJ.
I remember Bob Shepard coming on the PA system and saying if the snowballs continued the Giants would be forced to forfeit the game. I think Reeves afterwards was so pissed he said he wouldn't have argued if they did call the game.
The UPS delivery was the highlight of the afternoon. Happened right in front of us in our section. The guy was wearing a Steelers jersey and not a Chargers jersey. The best part was they missed capturing it the first time for inside the stadium, so they had to reenact it again. The first time they did it there were a few snowballs when they had to redo it the snowballs flew, because everyone throwing them was prepared.
I also remember getting up to use the bathroom and came back and my uncle was cleaning snow out of his jacket after it showered down from the upper deck. I had to laugh at him as I missed the carnage.
The game and the snowballs were disappointing, but sure was memorable.
Basically, by the time the 4th quarter started, anyone that got up to get out of the lower bowl was annihilated with ice bombs from folks in the loge and upper deck. As I said, my buddy tried to make a break for it and I told him not to try it. Predictably, as soon as he got up to get out, he was met with a massive barrage of icy frozen rocks that pummeled him. I've never seen anything like it. Even the tv replays of the events that day don't do it justice. It was a "had to be there" experience.
I was there in row 2 right behind the Chargers bench Â
and these idiots in the upper deck with horrible arms were unable to reach the field. So, they were landing all around us.
1. I watched a guy hit an elderly assistant coach in the side of the head with an ice ball. The old guy was down for a while.
2. UPS was running a promotion at the time. During one of the commercial breaks, they would announce that UPS will deliver anywhere. So, they chose a random seat and a UPS guy would deliver a game ball to a lucky fan. So, the seat chosen was lower level western end zone. UPS guy delivers the ball, then about 200 snowballs get thrown at him as he is running back up the stairs. THAT was really the only amusing part of the whole thing.
the "Reggie Bar" game at Yankee Stadium on April 13, 1978. All 50,000+ fans received a Reggie Bar upon entering the Stadium. Reggie hit a home run in the first inning and all 50,000+ fans hurled their Reggie Bars onto the field. It was pretty hilarious, and no one got hurt.
and it was predictable. Back then we had our seats in section 128, 6th row. When we arrived at our seats, we had to dig them out. As others have said, it was relatively mello right up until the UPS special delivery of the game. The UPS dude was pelted and that started the avalanche. Given where our seats were at the time, we were sitting ducks. They tried to have security go down onto the sidelines and point out the fans who throwing the snowballs in the stands. Once everyone in the stands figured out what was happening, security on the field starting getting pelted and they gave up. It was all fun and games until the iceballs starting raining down in the 4th quarter. Sadly the gentleman right in front of me took an iceball off the back of his head and was knocked out cold. He was carried out on a stretcher. Thats when we bolted for safety.
you guys were right. I thought it was a Chargers jersey. I remember it took place in the opposite end zone from where I sat. My end zone was the one that Gayle had to run towards with his Pick 6 and the snowballs came down on him.
The UPS game ball was given to the Steelers jacket/jersey guy in a corner of the end zone (north western corner) that I was sitting near. I'll never forget it - I can't believe its been 24 years. That Steelers fan ran up and down the aisle encouraging the ice bombing. And then the rest..as they say.. is Giants history.
I just looked at my ticket stub also - Section 107, Row 7 and the face value was $35. Wow
The chargers equipment manager getting knocked out was definitely a low point in Giants history. Likely a lot of non regulars who were gifted tickets for what was a meaningless game in a dreadful season contributed to the madness
I remember watching on TV thinking it was funny. Â
We thought the Charger equipment guy took a dive at the time because how could a snowball knock you out? It hit the news that night that he was hit with ice and was knocked out. I also remember the hunt for the guy throwing the snow ball. I thought they also showed two guys on TV who were also found.
It was a big to-do at the time
It was completely insane!.
Anyway, because he wore the jersey, we had snowballs coming in our direction from the upper deck. I remember I had a kid sitting behind he and he got nailed in the back of the head with a snowball and was crying.
The snowballs didn't really start for a while and got worse as the game went on. If you remember, Shaun Gayle picked off a Dave Brown pass and ran towards my end zone. If you can find the highlights, he had no one around him, but he ducked his head and covered the ball at around the 20 because snowballs were flying at him and exploding all around as fans had time to pack them and hurl them in his direction.
As for the snowball throwing fan who got his picture taken, if I remember correctly, his ex-wife turned him in when they had a manhunt for him. This was in the days before social media. I think the Giants took his season tix away, but if I remember he got them back.
http://bluenatic.blogspot.com/2009/11/open-letter-to-jeffrey-lange.html
My brother grabbed a big chunk of snow and dropped it on some dudes head a few levels below us, as I'm in the upper deck.
It was fun.
My brother grabbed a big chunk of snow and dropped it on some dudes head a few levels below us, as I'm in the upper deck.
It was fun.
You sound like a real winner you could have killed the guy...
Quote:
I was young. There was a ton of people having snowball fights in the mezzanine circle things on the side of the stadium.
My brother grabbed a big chunk of snow and dropped it on some dudes head a few levels below us, as I'm in the upper deck.
It was fun.
You sound like a real winner you could have killed the guy...
I was like 11 and my brother was probably 9. We didn't throw any iceballs. He grabbed a chunk of fluffy snow. It was really harmless. The whole mezzanine was like a giant snowball fight.
We didn't throw anything when we were at our seats, just in the mezzanine circle things.
The team absolutely sucked, and its probably one of my first memories of going to an NFL game.
After that, it was all over. Snowballs were first thrown around the stands, by fans at each other. As as the game got worse, they started flying on the field and at the Chargers bench, who had their equipment manager get knocked out. If I remember he was a Vietnam Vet who didn't get a scratch in his tour there and he got knocked out by an iceball in NJ.
I remember Bob Shepard coming on the PA system and saying if the snowballs continued the Giants would be forced to forfeit the game. I think Reeves afterwards was so pissed he said he wouldn't have argued if they did call the game.
They'd been shutout by Boston the previous game, this was a home game against Philly, I'm guessing 1988-89 - it was plastic mug night! We got plastic mugs with a sticky base for your dashboard and a white mug with a Ranger logo on it.
As the seconds wound down, Rangers again being shutout, the first mug flew from the Blue seats, then a few more and then it was a fucking downpour from every section. The goalie - I think it was Beez - cowering in his net.
Lunacy.
So yeah, given that memory, the snowball game didn't shock me and I'm glad I missed it.
I think the Giants wanted to know who he was to sign him to a contract.
There really weren't any "fluffy" snowballs. It was all melted slush under the seats from a storm the day before.
I did not participate in throwing any snowballs, But if I had, my seats were so bad there would have been no danger of hitting anyone on the field. Heck, I probably couldn't have hit anyone in the first row of the upper deck (we were three rows from the top).
I remember it being really fucking cold that day.
Quote:
it sounds like there were almost 2 separate things going on: (1) people throwing snowballs made of fluffy snow for fun; and (2) dickheads throwing ice balls with the potential to hurt people.
There really weren't any "fluffy" snowballs. It was all melted slush under the seats from a storm the day before.
At the seats there was slush. The snow out at the Mezzanine was different, not completely cleared from what I remember.
Link - ( New Window )
hadn't seen that in a long time, man that Chargers equipment guy got nailed. Knocked unconscious.
Not Giants fans finest day
The best memory I have was watching some poor bastard in a Marty Lyons Jets jersey get absolutely pummeled as he climbed the upper deck stairs with his hands full of consecessions. Had good form, kept his head down but just had no protection - went to a knee at one point but kept going. Sack Exchange indeed....
After that, it was all over. Snowballs were first thrown around the stands, by fans at each other. As as the game got worse, they started flying on the field and at the Chargers bench, who had their equipment manager get knocked out. If I remember he was a Vietnam Vet who didn't get a scratch in his tour there and he got knocked out by an iceball in NJ.
I remember Bob Shepard coming on the PA system and saying if the snowballs continued the Giants would be forced to forfeit the game. I think Reeves afterwards was so pissed he said he wouldn't have argued if they did call the game.
Matt is exactly right, except the winner of the ball wasn't wearing a Chargers jersey - he was wearing a Steelers jersey and started taunting the crowd. That's really when all hell broke loose.
I was sitting toward the north end zone on the Giants sideline in the lower bowl. My buddy and I could not get up and had to stay covered under our coats for the majority of the second half. My friend tried to get up and make a break for it at one point but he was met with a barrage of ice balls which pummeled him so he was forced to sit back down and take cover.
I remember that the team got some crap because they did a half-ass job clearing the snow.
The one amusing aspect was some drunk Jet fan who was standing up yelling at Giant fans and the light crowd upstairs that surrounded him pelted him from five directions. the one guy in the stadium who deserved to get pelted.
You can't throw a "fluffy" snowball. Holy shit.
THE UPS guy was pelted also. IT was insane.
After that, it was all over. Snowballs were first thrown around the stands, by fans at each other. As as the game got worse, they started flying on the field and at the Chargers bench, who had their equipment manager get knocked out. If I remember he was a Vietnam Vet who didn't get a scratch in his tour there and he got knocked out by an iceball in NJ.
I remember Bob Shepard coming on the PA system and saying if the snowballs continued the Giants would be forced to forfeit the game. I think Reeves afterwards was so pissed he said he wouldn't have argued if they did call the game.
Quote:
you might remember that back in the mid 1990s, they had a promotion with UPS for the "Delivery of the game". Well, in this game, the Giants jumped out 17-3 and then predictably shit the bed. But things with snowballs didn't pick up until they did the delivery of the game. A UPS guy would give a signed football so some lucky fan. That fan in this case was wearing a Chargers jersey. As soon as he got the football and stood up, he got nailed by snowballs from everywhere and ran up the aisle as snowballs were flying at him.
THE UPS guy was pelted also. IT was insane.
After that, it was all over. Snowballs were first thrown around the stands, by fans at each other. As as the game got worse, they started flying on the field and at the Chargers bench, who had their equipment manager get knocked out. If I remember he was a Vietnam Vet who didn't get a scratch in his tour there and he got knocked out by an iceball in NJ.
I remember Bob Shepard coming on the PA system and saying if the snowballs continued the Giants would be forced to forfeit the game. I think Reeves afterwards was so pissed he said he wouldn't have argued if they did call the game.
The UPS guy was pelted also
After that, it was all over. Snowballs were first thrown around the stands, by fans at each other. As as the game got worse, they started flying on the field and at the Chargers bench, who had their equipment manager get knocked out. If I remember he was a Vietnam Vet who didn't get a scratch in his tour there and he got knocked out by an iceball in NJ.
I remember Bob Shepard coming on the PA system and saying if the snowballs continued the Giants would be forced to forfeit the game. I think Reeves afterwards was so pissed he said he wouldn't have argued if they did call the game.
The UPS delivery was the highlight of the afternoon. Happened right in front of us in our section. The guy was wearing a Steelers jersey and not a Chargers jersey. The best part was they missed capturing it the first time for inside the stadium, so they had to reenact it again. The first time they did it there were a few snowballs when they had to redo it the snowballs flew, because everyone throwing them was prepared.
I also remember getting up to use the bathroom and came back and my uncle was cleaning snow out of his jacket after it showered down from the upper deck. I had to laugh at him as I missed the carnage.
The game and the snowballs were disappointing, but sure was memorable.
Basically, by the time the 4th quarter started, anyone that got up to get out of the lower bowl was annihilated with ice bombs from folks in the loge and upper deck. As I said, my buddy tried to make a break for it and I told him not to try it. Predictably, as soon as he got up to get out, he was met with a massive barrage of icy frozen rocks that pummeled him. I've never seen anything like it. Even the tv replays of the events that day don't do it justice. It was a "had to be there" experience.
1. I watched a guy hit an elderly assistant coach in the side of the head with an ice ball. The old guy was down for a while.
2. UPS was running a promotion at the time. During one of the commercial breaks, they would announce that UPS will deliver anywhere. So, they chose a random seat and a UPS guy would deliver a game ball to a lucky fan. So, the seat chosen was lower level western end zone. UPS guy delivers the ball, then about 200 snowballs get thrown at him as he is running back up the stairs. THAT was really the only amusing part of the whole thing.
He was young...
Sorry to miller the snowball thread!
I just looked at my ticket stub also - Section 107, Row 7 and the face value was $35. Wow
The chargers equipment manager getting knocked out was definitely a low point in Giants history. Likely a lot of non regulars who were gifted tickets for what was a meaningless game in a dreadful season contributed to the madness