I was 8 years old in 1963 when the Giants played the Bears in the championship game. I remember watching the game on television with my father. I remember the Giants taking a lead. And eventually losing. Don't know if it's a real memory or not, but the iconic picture of the battered YA tittle on the sidelines crying comes to mind.
What followed 1963 was the "15 years of lousy football" period. A hell of a time to become a Giants fan.
My dad passed in 1976. I wish I'd been able to share the rise of the team in the 80s with him.
But I got to see the Giants play in and win their first super bowl, I got to see the entire career of Lawrence Taylor, etc. The sweet moments made sweeter by the bitter before.
Anyway, that's my first Giant's memory. What's yours? Wanna share?
All of 8, old man snuck me into a bar-foreshadowing-to see the Jets beat us. Then of course the 49ers laid down like dogs to the Rams on MNF to officially eliminate us. Ugh.
Must have been why I was mouthing off about Simms later on.
Since 1986 I've pretty much been a church mouse.
Pretty sure that was the game where Dan Reeves kept going for two because he was religiously following the stupid chart widely used at the time. I think the league office made it up. No analytics involved just genius stuff like if you were down by 5 go for 2 to make it a 3 point game regardless of how much time left.I was going bananas watching Reeves throw away points that day.
So my official 1st season was 1980. Down here in South Jersey, the Cardinals/Giants game was on TV and Phil Simms threw 5 TD passes in a opening day win.
I thought here comes a great season with a great young QB....then we lost something like 7 straight and ended up 4-12!!!!!
Week 2 was home against the Cowboys. I was watching at a family gathering at my aunt's. Allegre missed a game-winner at the end.
Week 3 was against the Dolphins, but was canceled by the strike (replacement player games started in Week 4). CBS showed a replay of Super Bowl XXI. I taped it on VHS and rewatched the shit out of that game.
I was there too. Still have the program and ticket stub
I believe Jimmy Robinson WR caught a TD pass
This was my first Giants game! Really more of an ice storm! I remember it was so freakin' cold. I remember Larry Csonka slipped behind the line of scrimmage, and slid for about 10 yards in the slush.
My mom made me my favorite - chocolate cake. Sat down to watch football; it was the Giants vs. the Baltimore Colts ...
Didn't know much about pro football. When the Giants lost, I had a sick feeling, I didn't understand why.
Does anybody else remember the Gerber baby food commercials with Pat Summeral, Frank Gifford, and it must have been Fran Tarkenton?
It was kind of corny - I believe they were designing plays with the jars of food as players
With student General Organization card got to sit in a
.55 cent seat for 25 cents. Nickel on the subway and a nickel to get back home, total cost 35 cents.
Brownbagged it.
1937 season.
Spider Lockhart, Bobby Duhon, Tucker Frederickson...
Spider Lockhart, Bobby Duhon, Tucker Frederickson...
I was listening surreptitiously (on my transistor radio!!). Actually what I mostly remember is how freeking cold it was (lot of outdoor activities).
Anyways, when the game reached it's infamous conclusion, my Dad smashed his radio and said something along the lines of "These guys will never be good!" There may have been an expletive in there somewhere, I was too traumatized by such a mild mannered man doing that in the first place to remember exactly.
That incident picqued my interest in football enough that I remember Simms getting drafted the next year.
But, if I had to say a first Giants memory (a specific moment), it's Ron Dixon's kickoff return for a TD in the 2000 bowl. I appreciate my Giants fandom probably most of all the teams I follow, since they lost a lot when I was a kid. (Born in 91 so I missed the first two bowls.) So yeah, losing the super bowl is a character building first memory, I think, which fits my ability to appreciate the Giants no matter if they win or lose, but to especially savor the wins.
I have memories of watching games with him in the early years, but the earliest game I have a pretty vivid memory of watching and getting really into was LTs epic Thanksgiving Day game against the Lions in 82