Giant Fans Stop Your Whining!!

As a 17 year die hard New York Giants fan I have to take issue with a portion of the fan base. Now I want to make it clear that there are a large number of Giants fans out there that live and breathe big blue, and take the good with the bad. This article in no way applies to them. However, there are a number of Giant fans out there that expect nothing short of absolute perfection, and sometimes a near perfect win will be overshadowed by any negative aspect, be it large or small. It seems like every time you turn on New York sports radio, countless Giants fans are complaining about what is wrong with the team. Whether it is an unproven receiving core, Brandon Jacobs, or the team’s lack of conversion on third downs, the team's accomplishments seem like an afterthought. This negative outlook comes in spite of the team's strong 5-0 start in which they have overcome a rash of injuries. In addition the Giants are enjoying a period of great prosperity where they have become one of the NFL’s elite franchises. The Giants have made the postseason four straight seasons and during that stretch the team has amassed an impressive 41-23 record highlighted by a remarkable Super bowl run two seasons ago.

Let us flash back to a little more than a decade ago when Dan Reeves led an unimpressive roster led by a mediocre quarterback named Dave Brown who mastered the art of the pick 6, and had fans questioning whether general manager George Young had lost the magic touch that helped the Giants of the 80's rise to NFL prominence. Brown led the Giants to 5-11 and 6-10 seasons in 1995 and 1996, which led to both he and Reeves being replaced the following season. The next seven years of Giants’ football was tremendously inconsistent with the high point coming on January 14, 2001 when the Giants shutout the Vikings 41-0 in the NFC championship game at Giants stadium. Unfortunately there were plenty of lows including one of the low points in franchise history, which occurred on January 5th 2003 when the Giants blew a 24 point second half lead to the San Francisco 49ers, which was followed by a dismal 4-12 2003 campaign were the team lost their final eight games by an average of 17.6 points per game. A season where the Giants were favored to make the playoffs, but ended up quitting on the season ultimately costing Fassel his job. This season included an absolutely disastrous loss to former Giant head coach Bill Parcells and his Dallas Cowboys when Fassel inexplicably left 10 seconds on the clock when Matt Bryant kicked an apparent game winning field goal. Amazingly the following kickoff went out of bounds and one completion and two field goals later the Giants and their fans were left in shock. Another gem was a heartbreaking 23-22 loss to the Minnesota Vikings in the 1997 NFC wild card round after the team blew a 19-3 lead, and gave up 10 points in the final 90 seconds. The disappointment and heartbreak often overshadowed the team's success during this tumultuous period. The Giants were never able to maintain any consistent stretch of success which had fans yearning for the days where Bill Parcells was roaming the sidelines and Lawrence Taylor was striking fear into the hearts of opposing quarterbacks.

This leads us back to the present where winning and consistency have become the norm and the team is a perennial NFC powerhouse. Not to mention a quarterback named Eli Manning, which already has a Super Bowl MVP trophy in his showcase and has a record which currently reads 46 wins and 29 loses since he took over for Kurt Warner in 2004. The franchise also has one of the elite front offices in the NFL lead by General Manager Jerry Reece who has helped build a talented roster and one of the NFL's premier organizations. Not lost in the shuffle is Coach Tom Coughlin who has brought discipline and consistency to the team, and overcome a great deal of adversity in his time as head coach.

This is New York and there is always going to be more scrutiny here. There are certainly issues with the team, and not every day is going to be rosy. However, in spite of any problems the team may have it looks as though this group is set up to be very competitive for the foreseeable future, so Giants fans these are your glory days so you better enjoy it while it lasts. Instead of focusing on the negative try to bask in the team's success, because every franchise experiences ups and downs. Maybe just maybe you can allow yourselves to enjoy a win without critiquing every flaw or mistake that the team made the previous Sunday.  Or accept the fact that the team played well even though they beat the Bucs or the Chiefs. A win is a win and this team has been stock piling them over the past few seasons. The New York Giants are in a period of consistent prosperity and in these days of parity and free agency, that is a tremendous accomplishment. Take a minute to ponder what you will be telling your children and grandchildren somewhere down the line. Perhaps one day when the team is going through a tough period you will tell stories of the glory days of Manning, Jacobs, Tuck, and Coughlin. How the New York Giants were a consistent winner and a team that New York could be proud of.