Even though I’m a 49ers fan until I die, or in 49ers fashion, tear every ligament in my knees, I have several backup teams I root for. I like the Broncos for their uniforms, the Lions’ plucky underdog spirit and the New York Giants’ status as my mom’s favorite team. Growing up as the only non-Patriots fan in Massachusetts, I was bemused seeing pretty boy Tom Brady losing to strange-looking Eli Manning in the Super Bowl twice. I tried mimicking the Odell Beckham Jr. catch at recess. My soft spot for the New York team from New Jersey runs deep, and I’ll always root for them.
Despite this soft spot, there’s no denying they have rotten luck. I feel they sold some part of their soul for those Super Bowl victories, because this decade and a half has felt like football torture, stamped by the 2024-2025 season. The Giants were featured on “Hard Knocks,” a documentary showcasing every aspect of football offseason from practice to management, and the Giants centred episode was just plain funny. During offseason negotiations, owner John Mara tells General Manager Joe Schoen said he would “have a tough time sleeping” if marquee running back Saquon Barkley left for the crosstown rival Philadelphia Eagles. After assuring Mara that Barkley would never leave, Barkley promptly leaves for Philadelphia. This moment of “Hard Knocks” reminds me of “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” In Philly, Saquon’s a current candidate for Offensive Player of the Year, fulfilling my belief that Giants players will do well anywhere except on the team. Another former Giant, Xavier McKinney, has emerged into a potential Defense Player of the Year nomination for the Green Bay Packers with seven interceptions. While Philadelphia and Green Bay are squarely in playoff contention, the Giants are 2-10 and in Travis Hunter contention.
The cumulation of their misery was cutting Blake Bortles incarnate Daniel Jones two years after dishing out a four-year 160-million-dollar contract. The oft-injured, wildly inconsistent Jones was either never very good because he’s bad at NFL football or was never given a support system in New York. Other than Barkley, Jones often threw to wide receivers that would be considered 3rd options at best on a good team: Sterling Shepard, Darius Slayton or (former 49er) Richie James. When the Giants signed former Detroit Lions #1 Kenny Golladay, he regressed into a slow and big Kadarius Toney; after being released by Giants, Golladay regressed to unemployment. Once management grew impatient (four years too late), the Giants demoted Jones to third string quarterback, and then released him upon request. Players were angry, the media had questions and I was stunned. Fortunately for Jones, he signed with a competent team in Minnesota and will probably be a Top Ten QB elsewhere. That’s just how it goes for former Giants.
It’s hard to rebuild when you’re only spending 40 million dollars, the football industry equivalent of sticks tied together with rope instead of bricks. Failing to sign and draft offensive talent, then not retaining any semblance of talent in free agency doesn’t help either. The Giants are in eternal football purgatory, and those early Super Bowl victories feel like a distant memory in Saquon Barkley’s dust. I think the Giants need to be blown up, then after everyone is gone, blown up again. Only then, John Mara will be able to sleep, unless he needs to go too.