A Giant Love & Loyal Warrior

       How many reasons can a true fan come up with when speaking of their loyalty to the home team?  Sometimes when life can really seem too serious, watching a sporting event with the family and/or friends can be just what you need to relax and have fun.  When I first began to watch New York Giants games on a weekly basis it was a father and son bonding type of situation that we all go through somewhere along the line.  Except somewhere around age 12 in my life, football became more of a hallowed religion than a sport in my eyes. If i had to pinpoint what made me a fan, I would have to say Michael Strahan and Jessie Armstead anchoring a defense throughout the late 90's that kept me coming back for more.

     The New York Giants were being coached by Jim Fassel in 1998 when I really turned it up a notch in terms of watching games.  The team was in a growing period with Danny Kanell attempting to learn the quarterback position on the fly.  Most experts who analyze great quarterbacks know that they all tend to go through at least one year of growing pains, at least most of them (Matt  Ryan, Joe Flacco).  In my eyes that season the Giants were a mediocre offensive unit whose job was to NOT make mistakes and allow a stronger defensive unit to win games when they could.

    If you look back on some of the late 1990's Giants rosters, it really allows someone like me to appreciate how fiery and strong-willed that these current players are to win another title.  The days of routing for Tyrone Wheatley and Charles Way on 3rd and inches are long gone.  Just take one look at the way Brandon Jacobs' body is built and tell me you would want to get low and drive your legs through that mammoth. 

     Eli and the offense have the ability to trade scores with any offense in the league.  The pressure was lifted off of Manning's shoulders the minute that Tyree came down with 'the catch'.  I consider myself privleged to be a New York Giants fan and will continue to support the classiest team in the NFL.

by Joseph Zatarga