Okay, this is going to be tough, considering that the Giants play at home bi-weekly, the bye week notwithstanding, but I’m going to try my best to keep up. So, here’s a double dip of Giants games. I’ll keep ‘em short…
Thursday, August 28, 2008 vs.
1) This was the HIGHLY anticipated rematch of Super Bowl XLII, minus basically every starter, including Tom Brady. (A rematch of 4th stringers)
2) Uncle Mike couldn’t make it tonight, so in his place, I brought my old college roommate, Adam, who was Johnny on the Spot, being that I texted him at 4 PM to ask him if he could make it to an 8 PM game. His response was, “Hell yeah!” (Gotta love Adam.)
3) On my ticket, I took my Dad. He hadn’t been to a Giants game in years, so I was happy to get him reacquainted. (This also made fellow season ticket holder and close family friend, John, very excited that my father was coming.)
4) We parked pretty close to the stadium. (I can’t say the line John dropped for fear of backlash, but all those who were there remember. Just to remind myself, it starts with, “We better not park TOO close.” I’ll just leave it at that.)
5) Wow, that girl is wearing Ugg boots in August. (I’m not sure if she’s trying to be a trend setter here, or she’s just that dumb. By the looks of her, I’m gonna go with she’s just that dumb.)
6) I broke the news to Adam. He’s shocked. (If you don’t know the news by now, then you don’t know me, or haven’t been in touch with me in a while.)
7) There are so many empty seats here. Of course I know why. It’s the 4th preseason game. (My point here is, yes I despise the Mara’s and Tisch’s and wish TERRIBLE things upon them, but they are geniuses to sell out every ticket in the building for every game, including preseason, which is also sold at full face value. That is financial genius, i.e. pure evil.)
8) So Adam and I just spend about a half hour trying to find a concession stand with a variety other than pretzels, hot dogs and sausages. No dice. (Outside of the knishes and chicken fingers, the concessions here stink!)
9) HAHA! Our reserves are better!
10) Fourth preseason games are so uneventful. (I HATE the owners)
11) Dad’s getting emotional. See, Uncle Mike and my late Uncle Billy who passed away in 1987 were legendary tailgaters. Now, twenty years later, Dad still gets a tear in his eye when thinking about his baby brother and who could blame him? So sitting in the old seats where Uncle Billy used to roam does bring back some memories. ( ) ~Moment of silence for Uncle Billy.
12) …………………………………………………………….
13) …………………………………………………………….
14) Amen
15) Now Dad’s getting reminiscent. (This is always cool to hear Dad or Uncle Mike tell stories from when they were younger. The stunts they all pulled, my God. No WONDER we couldn’t get away with anything as kids. They knew it all!)
16) Adam, always clutch with the one-liners, pulled out these two beauties: “He heard the footsteps,” which was not football related and, “Whoa, she could eat less Crackerjacks,” which needs no explanation. (Good ol’ Adam)
17) Now, I am not a proponent of the wave by any stretch, but if there is a place to do it, a bowl style football stadium is the place. This is the best and most appropriately timed wave I’ve ever seen. (Even Shaun O’Hara was impressed following it around the stadium on the sideline.)
18) “Okay, this is like a bad Family Guy joke that’s gone on too long.”~Adam (TszszszszszszszszsszszsszAHHHHHHHHHHH…..TszsszszszszszszszszszszsszsAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!
Not much else to report here, except Dad calling Mom when they played Los Lobos “How Far is Heaven.” Side note, it was Mom’s last day of work heading into retirement, so it was fitting.
Giants win, splitting the preseason games, however going 2-0 at home, so that could be a good sign right? Well, Coach Coughlin did say he wanted to improve on the 3-5 home record last year. This will be interesting to see how it plays out.
Game 1
Thursday September 4, 2008
Redskins @ Giants.
Considering the fact that the NFL execs are just as money starved and evil as Giants ownership (now I know where they get it from) and they LOVE to have these Thursday night games because they generate more revenue, yet are an inconvenience to EVERYONE, there was no way I was making this game on time. I left work at 5:11 PM. I had to run home to meet Anthony, get changed and head over John’s business in town to meet up to leave. Well, considering that I work off of Route 46 and Route 80 and they had signs on 46 East saying to expect delays for the football game as early as Monday, I wasn’t planning on going anywhere near Route 46. Route 80 it is! Not that this was much better, but I was able to get home at about 5:45. After meeting Anthony and getting dressed, we headed off. It was about 6:10 when we left his place. The stadium is no more than 5 miles away. It took almost an hour to park. Thank you Mr Mara for showing us your GREAT skill in parking management, in that it took us that long to get into the parking lot and even longer to be sent out to the East side of the Racetrack. John Mara, you suck at fan satisfaction.
1) Okay, they had a section in the middle of that lot with AT LEAST 100 spots available, yet they weren’t letting anyone in. Why? Because those were VIP RED parking passes. Red, blue, green, VIP, MVP, HGH…I DON’T GIVE A DAMN!! YOU HAVE EMPTY PARKING SPOTS? YOU OPEN IT UP! VIP? NO!!! OPEN THE DAMN SPOTS. IF THEY ARE NOT THERE YET, SCREW EM!! (This is just not efficient, I’m sorry. You suck, Mara.)
2) Okay, I think my belly aching is starting to get annoying but I will say this, I’m not the only one who holds these sentiments about this STUPID and UNECESSARY new stadium. (No one will ever convince me otherwise.)
3) Not for nothing, but we did park so far away that we couldn’t see the stadium. (Because the nameless new stadium was in the way.)
4) This resulted in us having to walk around the entire northwest side of said stadium; along with a guy pushing another guy in a wheelchair because handicapped was full. (Aren’t there laws against this?)
5) I’ll say it again; I’m definitely NOT the only one who thinks this new stadium is bogus.
6) I hear a lot cheering, unfortunately I’m still outside.
7) So after doing a lap in the new stadium and missing most of the Giants’ opening drive, we finally get to our seats, just in time to see the remainder of the drive and the Giants’ first touchdown of the season, courtesy of an Eli Manning bootleg. (Did that actually happen? I think it did! 7-0 Giants.)
8) This place is fired up. (I’ve never heard it this loud.)
9) Coach Coughlin is finally getting what he asked from the fans as they erupt in support during that defensive stand.
10) Jason Campbell looks terrible.
11) Looks like Brandon Jacobs intends on picking up right where he left off as he absolutely TRUCKS a Redskins defensive back. (B-Jake loves doing this and we love him for it.)
12) Who needs Strahan and Osi??? We got Tuck!! (This guys is approaching Man/Beast status…fast!)
13) Whoa, Eli, whoa. Take it easy with those throws.
14) Okay, so here is the story of stories…Anthony and I go to get food. I get mine and he was still on line so I told him to meet me at the Miller Lite stand. I get on line and about 5 minutes later, he walks over. When trying to get on line with me, security stops him and says this line is shut down after me. To make a long story short, the guy selling Miller was breaking the rules and needed to be removed from his post. As a result, I made friends with a security guard in our section who knows Wild Bill, (see my Devils post from the spring of 07) and also a very prominent figure in the alcohol department. That’s all I’m gonna say. (I have to say, it’s about what you know, not who you know, which is why I’m always networking.)
15) That took up almost a whole quarter. Just in time for half time. Three old guys and a smoking blonde walk out onto the field. “Ladies and Gentlemen, co-owner of the New York Giants, Steve Tisch…BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
16) You know there’s a seething hatred for someone when they walk up to a microphone in front of 80,000 people to talk to them about the fight against cancer, but have to talk over merciless booing that began from the moment their name is announced to the moment they walk off the field. (Screw you, and your Personal Seat Licenses, Tisch.)
17) Really, what’s the justification, other than we won’t to make more money. I understand it’s a business, but don’t you have enough. I would love to just meet Steve Tisch or John Mara and tell him how it is to live a normal life where you actually have to worry about money and not about which 6-figure car or 7 to 8 figure house you wanna buy. You know what? Screw em both. They’ll get theirs when Satan gets them. (Yes, I just said that Steve Tisch and John Mara can burn in hell for all I care. That’s how much disdain I have for them and their greed.)
18) GET OFF THE FIELD YOU GREEDY BUM!!
19) Actually the burn in hell line wasn’t mine. I can’t take credit for that. That line came from a guy about 4 seats over from me who looks like he’s been to every Giants game since the Polo Grounds and Yankee Stadium. (I got your back, buddy.)
20) The second half was pretty much a blur. It was pretty uneventful as the Giants defense took over and held the Skins at bay after they scored early in the second half.
21) Other than the boiling blood over the PSL’s, it was a fun time and a great way to open the season with a win. (I can’t say enough about the crowd. They were fired up and cheering on the Giants, while booing ownership. Way to go, everyone.)
22) Walking out, we started heckling the new stadium, which I think is a first.
So that’s that, after this past week’s thrashing of the Rams, I’m fired up for our second game of the year at the stadium. Do I really wish Steve Tisch and John Mara burn in hell? No, I don’t, that wouldn’t be very Catholic of me. Do I hope that they had their entire retirement accounts in Lehman Brothers? Yes. I do wish for them to lose everything they have for selling their souls and running things against the way their fathers Robert and
You know, if people actually read this blog, I would think about starting up a petition to our state legislature to get them to put a stop on this PSL thing. I do know that a legislator out of
If the PSL’s do go through, then I’ll just take my money and put a down payment on a house with a big flat screen TV and surround sound and watch every game from home without having to pay for parking, deal with traffic or pay $9 a beer. I’ll take my TV with free parking, no traffic and a 30 Pack from $18 thank you very much.
In the meantime, I’m gonna enjoy these seats and this stadium while I got them.
Go Giants!
