I regretted missing the victory parade back in 2008. I wasn’t going to miss this one. This photo was taken from my camera phone right outside of City Hall, the end of the parade route. That’s Justin Tuck holding the Lombardi.
]]>Steve Sabol wrote those very words while working on the Packers†highlight film for that season. Vince Lombardi, an English major, wanted to review the script before it went to production. Lombardi first informed Sabol that “frozen tundra†is redundant (Wester’s defines it as a level or rolling treeless plain that is characteristic of arctic and subarctic regions, consists of black mucky soil with a permanently frozen subsoil). Secondly, Lombardi told Sabol that because they had installed a heating element under the field, the field was actually never frozen, and he would not allow those words to be used!
Interestingly enough, the Cowboys did have “frozen tundra†in their highlight film that year because GM Tex Schramm wanted it that way, blaming the loss on the elements. John Facenda did not narrate that film.
So, next time someone jokes about the “frozen tundra of Lambeau Fieldâ€, politely correct them.
]]>I had speculated when PSL’s were first introduced by the Giants last June, I would probably need about 15-20% of current season ticket holders to decline on a PSL to actually have a shot. That estimate has been shattered. Early sales figures had fans renewing in the 95th percentile, but as the affordable upper tier and mezz filled, sales hit a snag. Apparently, wait list members in the 20,000’s are getting the call for seats. Certainly the concept a personal seat license, and even more so the current economy, have played a large part in the Giants needing to reach deep into the wait list.
At $5K a pop, I purchased two seats. The only area left in the stadium remotely affordable is called Field 3, or endzone seating (fingers crossed for coffin corners). A bit steep in price, I’m looking at it as an investment, as selling the PSL for a profit in the future is always an alternative. But the chance to have my very own tickets and be part of a unique club, as well as helping to open a brand new stadium in 2010, was just too tempting to pass up.
]]>Your friends who liked other teams knew Van Pelt because he wore the unusual #10. But they also knew him because he was a fine LB. Van Pelt was a complete defender who could play the run and the pass equally well. He made five Pro Bowls during his tenure with the Giants. Sadly, he played on only one winning team, the 1981 squad which went 9-7. Ironically, Van Pelt nursed an injury during that playoff run and, if I vaguely remember correctly, did manage to get himself into the San Francisco divisional playoff loss.
A great Giant and fan favorite, Van Pelt will be missed.
RIP, BVP.
]]>The concept behind America’s Game is not the typical highlight film, but rather to chronicle the season of the Super Bowl champion as seen through the eyes of three key persons. In the Giants’ case, these three individuals were a no-brainer: Michael Strahan, Tom Coughlin, and Eli Manning. Strahan was his usual entertaining self. The funniest moment was his imitation of Tom Brady, who spoke in disbelief about Plaxico Burress’ prediction of the Pats scoring only 17 points. Manning had a smile on his face the entire time, and showed his more comical and lighthearted side. One particular snip had Manning describing half time of the Packers playoff game, in which he didn’t hear a word his coach said because he was focusing on whether Coughlin’s cherry red face had frost bite. Coughlin also presented a side that, until that 2007 season, many Giants’ fans didn’t know he had. All three beamed of victory throughout the show.
The thing I probably liked best about it was some non-NFL Films clips, which I am sure were rarely seen. The first which really hit me was Coughlin’s first speech to his team in 2004, and if his tone and directness didn’t get your attention, you didn’t have a pulse. Wow! During the 2007 training camp, they show a changed Coughlin taking the Giants out for bowling night rather than having meetings. During Super Bowl week in Arizona, there is a shot of the Giants’ team bus stopping at In-N-Out Burger to grab a team meal. They also give a 30 second shot of Coughlin’s Saturday night pregame speech to the team before the epic game. And seeing David Tyree dropping ball after ball during the last practice before the game added an interesting twist of things to come.
I’ve seen all three America’s Games on the Giants, and the 1986 version remains my favorite, and the only one I’ve watched multiple times. The 2007 team is probably 1A and the 1990 team 1B. I think a lot of the allure with the ’86 story is the three participants (Parcells, Taylor, and Simms) were talking about their season some 20 years later. While watching the 2007 version, we find ourselves only a year removed from the moment which I won’t say takes away from it, but it would be more nostalgic to see these three talk about it in about 10 years. Alas, there is an roundabout solution to this: wait 10 years and view it on DVD (or whatever medium we have then) and enjoy it all over again.
]]>While I have bitched and complained about both these guys (mainly in the context of Giants’ football), I will miss listening to the duo. I’ve been tuning in for all 20 years at various times depending on what job I was working, despite what I consider some obvious dislike toward the Giants since about the middle of the Jim Fassel era. They openly showed their dislike for Strahan, Shockey, and Tiki, with some of it warranted. But Russo, in particular, would go out of his way to root against the Giants and really bring a negative context when talking about the team. Sure he hates the Yankees too and even had a band of callers who backed him, but that was done in a much different tone. With the Giants, you got the impression he really didn’t like the players. In fact, in the last three Super Bowls that the Giants played in during his time on WFAN, he predicted blow out losses for the Giants in each. Enough said.
Good or bad, after a Giant win or loss, I would always make time to tune in to see what these guys were saying. They just didn’t take calls, but had top personalities on and did great interviews. The show was always entertaining, whether you agreed or disagreed and that’s why I listened. Missed pronunciations of words, twisting of names, and uncontrollable rants aside, I will miss Russo, and the show as a whole.
In my best Russo impersonation, “Goooooooooooooooooood night, everybody!!”
]]>