A Giants win over the Vikings in Week 1 would be a fitting way to start off their 100th season
THe Vikings' Harrison Phillips tries to stop the Giants' Daniel Jones during the first half of an NFL wild-card game on Jan. 15, 2023, in Minneapolis. Credit: AP/Bruce Kluckhohn
The Giants have had a glorious last few months celebrating their 100th season.
It began in June with a star-studded event at Madison Square Garden, carried over through a slew of in-house media offerings that included a look at each of their eight championship teams and the unveiling of the greatest players in franchise history, and continued on Friday night with an impressive Fan Fest capped by fireworks and dramatic drone displays that lit up the sky above MetLife Stadium in the shape of some of the top moments from the past century.
The team produced a gorgeous collector’s book that tells the story of its history, sent replica Super Bowl rings to season-ticket holders and will be wearing special patches to commemorate the milestone campaign.
All in all, it’s been a top-notch, pitch-perfect production.
There’s really only one thing that could ruin it.
That’s right. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
That’s when the Giants will face the Vikings at MetLife in front of not only a home crowd that is impatient for signs of improvement but a host of the team’s biggest names from the past who have paved the way for the organization. And that’s when we’ll start to know whether this year’s roster, this particular squad, is up to the task of being feted as the 100th incarnation or if they’re going to be balloon-popping party-poopers who will delay any return to championship-contending form until the Giants’ second century.
“There’s no better way to celebrate it than to go out there and win,” wide receiver Darius Slayton told Newsday of his view on the challenge of living up to 99 years of tradition that is being proudly paraded for all to see. “I wouldn’t say it’s pressure. But we obviously understand it’s a big year for the organization and it’s an important milestone, but we have to go out and focus on winning games whether it’s the 100th season or the 101st. At the end of the day, we have to go out there and win.”
That’s clearly the focus for coach Brian Daboll. He is entering his third season after winning a playoff game in his first year (not to mention an NFL Coach of the Year trophy) and overseeing a decided step backward in 2023. He doesn’t have much time to get things straightened out, which probably explains why he has taken over the offensive play-calling and made the changes he has to his coaching staff and routines in the offseason.
It also explains why this past week, when the Giants took the field for their first practice in their throwback blue and red winged helmets and red jerseys for the offensive players that were meant to mimic the striped beauts they’ll be wearing on Sunday, Daboll barely acknowledged the wardrobe salute to days of yore and gave what came across as grouchy lip service to the legends.
“We have tremendous respect for the organization and for the people that have come before us,” he said. “Guys like Coach [Bill] Parcells, Coach [Tom] Coughlin, Carl Banks, Lawrence Taylor, Phil Simms, Eli Manning. The list goes on and on. But our focus has to be singular on getting ready for the Minnesota Vikings and doing everything we can do. That’s all you ask of everybody in the organization, the coaching staff, players, is to put your head down and go to work and leave no stone unturned so that you’re as prepared as you can be to go out there on opening day.”
Asked what he thought of the new look a second time, though, Daboll snorted hard enough to blow out all 100 candles on the cake.
“Our focus is on the Vikings,” he reiterated before quickly adding “with all respect to the people that have come before us” so as not to evoke further wrath of the ownership.
The Maras and Tisches may be patient and abide losing (to a certain point), but they will not condone anyone harshing on their centennial vibes.
That Daboll approach, distancing the team from the jubilee happening around them, seems to have worked with at least a few of the Giants. Newly acquired guard Jon Runyan Jr. said he wasn’t really aware of any of the events happening in regard to the 100th season ( or else he is really good at feigning ignorance).
“I have no idea what you are talking about,” he said when asked about the festivities. “A celebration? Seriously? Is there something with the decades uniforms or something?”
Yeah, something. At least Runyan, as a Michigan alum, was impressed by the helmet design, which is similar to the Wolverines’ familiar blue and gold look (even though he thought it represented Princeton and not the Giants, who are reminding everyone that they had it before anyone else).
“Really familiar,” Runyan said. “I had to do a double-take out there. It was cool to see it.”
Others are at least a little more aware of their surroundings.
“We’re certainly aware of it and we’ve talked about it,” Daniel Jones said. “I think the important thing is you understand how rich the tradition is in this organization and the history behind playing for the New York Giants and what that means and what this franchise means to the NFL. All of that is special to be a part of, and we have, as players, a lot of respect for that.”
Now they have to go out and show it. Keep the good times going. Win. Win not just for 2024 but for every other Giants team from 1925 to 2023. Win to keep the feel-good sentiments from evaporating. Win to make sure the rest of the Giants’ parade of events and celebrations scheduled to take place at home games through the coming months are joyous affairs and not miserable reminders of what used to be.
This is a season nearly 100 years in the making, one in which traditions and glories are at the forefront. No one wants to have ruining it be their part of that legacy.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
