An open letter to the owners of the New York Giants:
John Mara
Steve Tisch
Gentlemen,
Thank you for your time.
I have been a lifelong Giants fan, and from 1979 until 2007, I was a very proud season ticket holder (Sec 326, Row 13).
Despite the lost seasons,
despite the horrible weather in December,
despite the interminable waits to get out of the parking lot,
despite being forced to buy worthless preseason tickets,
despite being blackmailed into pre-paying for parking passes,
attending Giant home games will always be one of the enduring highlights in our treasure trove of family memories.
It wasn’t until the introduction of the inaccurately named Personal Seat Licenses, which were used to extort even MORE money from your fan base, that I finally said enough is enough. As that very mediocre season (3 and 5 at home) turned into an improbable Super Bowl run, my last act as a season ticket holder was to sell my Super Bowl tickets on Ebay for a ridiculous amount of money, and then sit back and watch as Eli Manning and the Giants pulled off one of the great upsets in NFL history.
Three months prior I had made the decision to give up my tickets for the following season. I have not regretted one moment of my decision, and while I did enjoy the most recent Super Bowl victory, I also enjoyed every lost season of ineptitude, knowing full well that it only further sullies the Mara name as one of the worst ownership groups in all of sport.
Now, at the conclusion of another lost season, it has become evident to all who watch NFL football, that the Giants have become a punchline to an unfunny joke.
In the past, no matter how bad things got,
we could always sleep well knowing that…
“At least we weren’t as bad as the Jets.”
That statement is no longer true.
The NY Football Giants are the laughingstock of professional football.
So I write to you now to say unequivocally, that it’s time.
It’s time for the current regime to step down and allow competent management to take over. And let’s be clear, the blame for this debacle belongs not to the players, and not to just the head coach (although he stinks) and not just the GM (he stinks too), but to the ownership group that has run this franchise for a century now, with the last 25 years being especially odious.
I wouldn’t expect you to sell your birthright; how else would the Mara family avoid having to work for the next seven decades, but at the very least, step away and hire a CEO to run this once proud franchise.
The record of futility is evident for all to see:
13 years since their last Super Bowl appearance.
Only two playoff berths in the time span.
Since 1990, an epoch of 34 seasons, the team has made the playoffs 11 times, won the division only 5 times, and never two years in a row.
Just for reference, in that same time span, the Eagles have gone to the postseason 19 times, and won TEN Division titles.
I mention the Eagles because, when I think of this season, I have that image of you, beta male incarnate, walking into Joe Schoen’s office, wearing your vest and your Sketchers, and meekly uttering those immortal words:
“I’ll have a tough time sleeping if Saquon Goes to Philadelphia,”
when any man worth his weight would have kicked open the door and screamed,
IF BARKLEY GOES TO PHILLY, DON’T BOTHER COMING TO WORK IN THE MORNING!
And now we all got to watch one of the greatest player that the Giants ever had, jump over defenders BACKWARDS on his way to a 2,000 yard season, and now an appearance in the Super Bowl.
Great job, John. Really motivating!
Let’s not forget, this is not a new development, the Giants were SO bad during your father’s reign, that Pete Rozelle was forced to step in and offer guidance in the form of George Young, who had to come in and take over the moribund franchise and turn it around. It took eight years to finally win the Lombardi Trophy. Hopefully, it won’t take that long this time, but it won’t happen unless you step away. That much is obvious. You can’t hire four terrible coaches in a row and then make the argument that you’re good for the franchise. Your hiring record is terrible. The team’s recent draft history is atrocious. That’s evident for all to see.
So, its time.
Sell the team.
At the very least, step away and let someone competent run it.
What have you got to lose?
PS.
Mr. Tisch,
You’ve made some great movies.
Stick to what you’re good at.
