for display only
Big Blue Interactive The Corner Forum  
Back to the Corner

Archived Thread

This felt sort of like beating the Cowboys in 1981.

Rico : 11/15/2020 6:39 pm
After years of not being competitive against a division rival who has owned us, feeling like we have recently gotten better and are playing smarter and tougher, and then having it come together with a win in an important game.

I feel sort of giddy like I did after that win over Dallas at the end of 1981, and it's awesome!
That is something  
jvm52106 : 11/15/2020 6:43 pm : link
I said earlier this week. We can make some noise if we come out of the break healthy and with some kinks ironed out...
Of course, the 1981 Cowboys were a very good team  
Greg from LI : 11/15/2020 6:59 pm : link
While the 2020 Eagles suck
Whether it factors in for the division for both or either team  
Matt M. : 11/15/2020 7:02 pm : link
I really want to beat the Cowboys to close the season.
Nothing will ever equal that feeling  
Hammer : 11/15/2020 7:11 pm : link
when we beat the Cowboys in '81 to make the playoffs for the first time in almost 20 years.

Nothing.
Yeah I agree  
Gmanfandan : 11/15/2020 7:29 pm : link
With the "Not so Fast" sentiment - in '81 we beat a very good cowboys team with White and Dorsett and Too Tall and Randy White - We were clearly the better team the first time we played the Eagles this year - so it's nice that we're learning to win but the Eagles are just as awful as the rest of the division right now. The '81 Boys finished at 12-4 with 3 All Pros.
RE: Nothing will ever equal that feeling  
US1 Giants : 11/15/2020 7:34 pm : link
In comment 15046591 Hammer said:
Quote:
when we beat the Cowboys in '81 to make the playoffs for the first time in almost 20 years.

Nothing.


+1 Today was great but that win over the Cowboys in 81 was on another level.
It's a fantastic day  
arniefez : 11/15/2020 8:10 pm : link
for Giant fans and it's fantastic that the Giants have a HC who has energized and excited almost the entire fan base, old guys like me and much younger fans.

But I was at that 1981 game and it was an entirely different thing in a lot of ways and a singular experience. At that point the Giants had never made the playoff in the Super Bowl era. I understand your point but respectfully can't agree.

I'll compare it more to the home game vs Washington in 1984. That was the game when it became apparent that the Giants were no longer at a significant disadvantage on the sideline and maybe they actually had an advantage. The 2020 Giants are in the same place but the roster is nowhere near the 1984 roster. Maybe next year will be the new 1984.
Not even close.  
x meadowlander : 11/15/2020 8:14 pm : link
I don't have a clue how someone could make that comparison.

I'd compare it to some of the early Simms wins perhaps - that sort of mediocre hopefulness, but the 81 season finale was one of the most awesome sports moments Ive ever enjoyed - just enormous.

I think a more apt comparison is Eli and the Giants  
mfsd : 11/15/2020 10:38 pm : link
pulling off the comeback on the last night of the season against Dallas in 2004 (game was actually Jan 2 2005).

Eli took some serious lumps after he took over as starter, played some terrible games, but started to put it together down the stretch. After the Eagles, Redskins and Ravens smacked Eli around, we fell just short of beating Pittsburgh and Cincinnati the 2 weeks prior to Dallas,

Eli led us to 3 4th quarter TDs. The game winning drive was capped off when he audibled to a Tiki run for the game winning TD with about 10 seconds left, for his first win in the NFL.

We were already out of the playoffs, but that’s when the Eli Giants first showed they could win a tough one against a division rival, by making the big plays late to finish it.

Great win by Giants  
LBH15 : 11/15/2020 10:40 pm : link
despite all the calls and non-calls that went in favor of Eagles.
From..  
FatMan in Charlotte : 11/15/2020 10:43 pm : link
1964 to 1980, the Giants missed the playoffs, finished dead last in the division (or conference) 9 times, and had a winning record twice.

1981 signified promise that hadn't been seen for a generation of fans
I think you are missing the point about  
jvm52106 : 11/15/2020 11:24 pm : link
the observation. It doesn't mean it is equal or carries the same historical weight. It means to the team this feels like tgat type of significant win, psychological win, that can change and forge a teams destiny or aura. This win was significant for a number of reasons.
Thanks JVM, totally agree.  
Rico : 11/15/2020 11:53 pm : link
Sure, the Giants in '81 had been losing for longer and Dallas was better (although the Eagles are not far removed from a Super Bowl win), but I think it's more about feeling that this was an inflection point, heading in a new direction pointing upwards. It felt that way in '81 and it feels that way to me now.

RE: From..  
Jim in Fairfax : 11/15/2020 11:56 pm : link
In comment 15046866 FatMan in Charlotte said:
Quote:
1964 to 1980, the Giants missed the playoffs, finished dead last in the division (or conference) 9 times, and had a winning record twice.

1981 signified promise that hadn't been seen for a generation of fans

This. In 81 the Giants had not made the playoffs in my lifetime. And had never even been competitive for a spot in my memory. This is nice, This is not 81.
1980 win against Dallas, not 81...  
x meadowlander : 11/16/2020 10:03 am : link
...beating Dallas in 1980 - Giants coming in at 2-8 against a heavily favored 7-3 Cowboy team. Dallas 10 point favorites and true to form, led by 10 going into the 4th quarter.

At that time, Giant home games had an obnoxiously large amount of Cowboy fans - America's team and the Giants were their bitch for the better part of a decade. This Landry/Cowboy team would go on to be 12-4, losing in the Conference final to Philly.

The Giants had pieces, certainly on defense, but featured an offense that started a backfield of Larry Heater and Leon Perry with Mike Friede as a starting WR. You don't recognize those names? There's a reason.

The Cowboys were not going to lose this game to the Giants, of all teams.

That Giant team DID have teeth - this was a game where Simms showed the future of the Giants (350 yds, 3 TD passes), and the defense harassed Danny White into 5 interceptions. A HUGE win that gave the Giants and their fans a MASSIVE infusion of *hope*.

I see this game in 1980 as the equivalent to yesterday. The Eagles are NOT the 1980 Cowboys, but the fact that they didn't convert a single 3rd down - that this Giant Defense has surprisingly been the story of the season, finding ways to get to the quarterback and to get off the field - coupled with a offensive line *finding itself* for the first time in a decade, really does provide a level of hope not seen for a long, long time.


Back to the Corner