Went to school through the many of the worst years, VAGUELY remember "Good Bye Allie". The Miracle @ the Meadowlands , and the banner "15 years of lousy football, we've had enough!" being flown over the old Giants stadium, THIS game put all of that to rest.
All of the Super bowls were great, and they all brought tears to my eyes, but THIS one erased so many bad memories.
as a Giants fan. That season and the playoff run exorcised all of the ghosts of those terrible, dark days of the 70's. The only other time I felt such relief in a sporting event was the 1994 Stanley Cup win by the Rangers. A poster in the Garden that night summed it up... "Now I can die in peace"
For those like me who became a fan during the mid-late 60s
that SB win was a VERY long time coming. The Giants had been completely non-competitive virtually every year from then, until the mid 80s. My entire youth and adolescence was spent following this team that absolutely sucked. I was 27 when they finally got over the hump, and boy was it sweet.
I still remember how emotional my old man was, he went to his first Giants game in the 40s, and lived through the dark years like a lot of our old timers here.
Very competitive first half, then the tumblers clocked into place and the second half was nirvana for Giants fans young and old
that SB win was a VERY long time coming. The Giants had been completely non-competitive virtually every year from then, until the mid 80s. My entire youth and adolescence was spent following this team that absolutely sucked. I was 27 when they finally got over the hump, and boy was it sweet.
I became a fan around 1969 (relatively late for a kid). So many damn years of the team being a laughingstock. It was like being a Lions fan is today, but with scrubs at QB. It was so HOPELESS.
And then it turned around and... this day.
I still feel that being a Giants fan in the '70s changed my whole outlook on life. It certainly made me much more philosophical as a fan; I never expect the team to win and I try not to get angry when they lose. But sticking with them through all those years (and all the years since) has always made winning sweeter.
Went to school through the many of the worst years, VAGUELY remember "Good Bye Allie". The Miracle @ the Meadowlands , and the banner "15 years of lousy football, we've had enough!" being flown over the old Giants stadium, THIS game put all of that to rest.
All of the Super bowls were great, and they all brought tears to my eyes, but THIS one erased so many bad memories.
Season ticket holders started bonfires and were burning their tickets in the parking lot of Giant's stadium.
The Pisarcik fumble was "coup de grace' though. I think because of that play the League finally stepped in and forced the Giants to hire a real GM (George Young). As every casual Giant's fan knows - Prior to Young the team was managed by the Uncle (Wellington) and the Nephew (Tim) and they hated each other so bad that "They had a partition setup in the owners box" (according to wikipedia). If you really can't stand the sight of the other person how in the hell can you come to an agreement on anything?
5 SB appearances and 4 SB victories = silver lining. That is a fair trade imo.
I was really happy for Phil Simms. He threw what was Football's equivalent of just about a perfect game. 22 for 25 (88% completion rate - a SB record that still stands to this day). This after getting drafted in the 1st round and then struggling constantly for his first 3-4 years(?) seems like it was always something. I remember 1 game where he was following through and his finger hit the helmet of a defensive player. Compound fracture, surgery - out for the season.
Hell - in 1983 Parcells started Scott Brunner coming out of training camp. Simms could not stay healthy ... until he did. 1984?
So 1986 was just so special ... and a season of "Redemption" .
Watched it with my dad at our friends' house on their new projection TV. We all were overjoyed. I think I probably said something like the OP's statement to my dad as well. My friend's dad started serving shots. My buddy and I had one. At 17 I could hold my alcohol pretty well but only one was offered. First and only time I've ever driven the old man home. It had snowed. Fortunately both houses were in the same neighborhood. He slept on the couch that night and got the silent treatment from mom for a couple of days.
Next time I went to school, I think it was the next day - no snow day, I had on a giants t-shirt even though it was a catholic school with a dress code. Many kids and staff had done the same. I still have the next day's Newsday.
That started a tradition of me gathering up all the papers from the next day after a super bowl win. For Eli's 2 I have collages of headlines inside poster frames. I am very interested in continuing that tradition soon.
That was the other thing I can remember about that night - watching the Super Bowl and looking out the window during commercial breaks to see how much snow there was. I think it ended up being well over a foot - no school AND the Giants were the champs. As good as it gets!
Got to smoke on airplanes, watch the 86 Giants, and get your master's degree for $4.
Very good post Rt 9, don't forget drink at 18, drink while driving, and yes the sexual revolution.... Oh how sweet it all was... And hell no annoying cell phones to get in our way. Yep, lucky indeed... But in football we sucked!!! Until 1986 that is... This broke the cheery for Super Bowls, the 56 Championship, I was only a year old then so meh... But it took 30 years to see another one.
Good post
it was a cathartic event in our house. I was 22, my brother 19
My father was so pumped about that team that he bought a brand new SONY 26 inch Trinitron the weekend of the game at RFK that sealed the East for the Giants. Weighed a fucking ton! All the years of frustration washed away. There were alot of great Sundays from '81-'90.
22 years old, my neighborhood tailgate crew had an insider at the East Rutherford post office. Superbowl tickets were by mail lottery and incredibly, EVERYONE from our crew was there, the sweet weirdness of going from bone-frozen section 4J in the Stadium lot to a beautiful summer-like day in the grassy Rose Bowl parking lot.
Me and my buddy did a red-eye turnaround. Landed at LAX at 6am, caught a flight home at 10pm.
It was the absolute pinnacle of the Parcells years, the team at it's highest high, the front-7 as deadly as any in the history of the league.
I could really get behind a Super Bowl where the Giants start out comfortably ahead and just pulverize the other team. I'd love to have a calm blood pressure during the fourth quarter sometime.
RE: As much as I love the other three Super Bowls,
I could really get behind a Super Bowl where the Giants start out comfortably ahead and just pulverize the other team. I'd love to have a calm blood pressure during the fourth quarter sometime.
Well, XXXV was damn boring & damn depressing, Haha.
'07 and '11 took most of the remaining pain away, even for '08.
All of the Super bowls were great, and they all brought tears to my eyes, but THIS one erased so many bad memories.
Yep, so was I with my soon to be wife. Almost did not make it because of the huge snow storm Thursday...had to scramble to get there.
Very competitive first half, then the tumblers clocked into place and the second half was nirvana for Giants fans young and old
“Can you believe the Giants are Super Bowl champs”
One of the best days of my life!
Exactly
That is true Stan but, we sucked so BAAAAAD (it is painful to think about) during the late 60's - through about 81?
With that 13-14 years as a backdrop ... 1986 season/playoffs will always be just a little bit "more equal" than the others.
2007 was definitely SWEEEET though.
And then it turned around and... this day.
I still feel that being a Giants fan in the '70s changed my whole outlook on life. It certainly made me much more philosophical as a fan; I never expect the team to win and I try not to get angry when they lose. But sticking with them through all those years (and all the years since) has always made winning sweeter.
All of the Super bowls were great, and they all brought tears to my eyes, but THIS one erased so many bad memories.
Season ticket holders started bonfires and were burning their tickets in the parking lot of Giant's stadium.
The Pisarcik fumble was "coup de grace' though. I think because of that play the League finally stepped in and forced the Giants to hire a real GM (George Young). As every casual Giant's fan knows - Prior to Young the team was managed by the Uncle (Wellington) and the Nephew (Tim) and they hated each other so bad that "They had a partition setup in the owners box" (according to wikipedia). If you really can't stand the sight of the other person how in the hell can you come to an agreement on anything?
5 SB appearances and 4 SB victories = silver lining. That is a fair trade imo.
I was really happy for Phil Simms. He threw what was Football's equivalent of just about a perfect game. 22 for 25 (88% completion rate - a SB record that still stands to this day). This after getting drafted in the 1st round and then struggling constantly for his first 3-4 years(?) seems like it was always something. I remember 1 game where he was following through and his finger hit the helmet of a defensive player. Compound fracture, surgery - out for the season.
Hell - in 1983 Parcells started Scott Brunner coming out of training camp. Simms could not stay healthy ... until he did. 1984?
So 1986 was just so special ... and a season of "Redemption" .
is the only 1 word term I can think of to describe our defense that year. Jim Burt looks like he is about to tear the runner's head off.
Yes that was a very big deal then and still is. However, my number one is still the 1956 NFL Championship game.
Next time I went to school, I think it was the next day - no snow day, I had on a giants t-shirt even though it was a catholic school with a dress code. Many kids and staff had done the same. I still have the next day's Newsday.
That started a tradition of me gathering up all the papers from the next day after a super bowl win. For Eli's 2 I have collages of headlines inside poster frames. I am very interested in continuing that tradition soon.
Got to smoke on airplanes, watch the 86 Giants, and get your master's degree for $4.
Got to smoke on airplanes, watch the 86 Giants, and get your master's degree for $4.
Yeah but we had to walk up hill to school and back home in two feet of snow and 30 mph wind at -20 degrees......
Got to smoke on airplanes, watch the 86 Giants, and get your master's degree for $4.
Very good post Rt 9, don't forget drink at 18, drink while driving, and yes the sexual revolution.... Oh how sweet it all was... And hell no annoying cell phones to get in our way. Yep, lucky indeed... But in football we sucked!!! Until 1986 that is... This broke the cheery for Super Bowls, the 56 Championship, I was only a year old then so meh... But it took 30 years to see another one.
Good post
Me and my buddy did a red-eye turnaround. Landed at LAX at 6am, caught a flight home at 10pm.
It was the absolute pinnacle of the Parcells years, the team at it's highest high, the front-7 as deadly as any in the history of the league.
The best of days.
Well, XXXV was damn boring & damn depressing, Haha.