I think McGuire's hatred went back to his playing days...it probably had something to do with Namath Don't get me started on Jets vs Giants. Jet hatred by Giants started in the late 60s, when Namath & Co were riding high. The late 60s Jets were the first real attack to the Giants' NYC superiority after fighting off challengers for 50 years ( Staten Island Stapletons, Brooklyn Dodgers Football team, New York Yankees Football team among others). Wellington Mara, who has become sainted but was a real prick in the 6Os, wanted to move the Jets to Memphis as a condition of the merger. In addition to $$$ ($30million?) the Giants got the number one pick in the 1968 as compensation for the Jets "invading their territory", which they wound up trading for Fran Tarkenton. The Giants mismanagement in the 60s in trying to top the Jets , sent them on a 15 year tailspin which they only escaped with the advent of George Young, Parcells and Lawrence Taylor. Both teams had renaissances in the early 80s, with the Jets actually nosing out the Giants early on, perhaps, partially because they did a little better in 81-82 and partially because the Jets still played in NYC while the Giants had moved to the suburbs. After '83, with a very disappointing Jets season and their announcement of the move to the Meadowlands, the tide turned to the Giants...and their snooty fans and sycophant media never took their feet off the Jets throats, almost to this day. That's when all the second class citizen stuff started. Of course, it doesn't help that the Giants have gone to 5 Super Bowls during that time, LOL.
I remember that 83 home finale against Pitt. Bradshaw's last game as well. The Jets got blown out but I remember the fans ripping up the seats and also storming the field (peacefully though).It was like they didn't want to say good-bye and they also wanted a piece of Shea. With their practice facility at Hofstra at the time and Nassau Coliseum being outdated back then I always wondered why the Jets and Isles didn't try to work something out with LI to build a "LI version" of the Meadowlands. Like what the Jets-Giants had with the Devils-Nets before they moved to Brooklyn-Newark respectively.
Excellent recap of 60's-early 80'sJets/Giants history, Endlessly. Great post. I didn't become a fan until the mid 80's, so I didn't realize that the Jets were ahead of the Giants until Parcells and Young arrived on scene. Parcells was already the Giants coach when I was a kid, haha.
I do. The highlight was beating Miami in the last game of the year to sneak into the playoffs at 8-8. If Miami won they would have went instead. We proceeded to get the shit smacked out of us by Houston (Oilers). Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
We got them in '88 though. They needed the win to make the playoffs and we won it late with an KO'B pass to Al Toon over their safety Flynn. I was watching the game on my dorm room TV...rabbit ears and all. Taylor was invisible that day. I wrote a poem for my two brothers who where Giants fans. It started "Do you remember that faithful day? When we put your men in blue away?" The only other line I remember was "Poor LT had not one sack. Maybe he smoked just too much crack." It was my superbowl that year! Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
While we spend so much time talking about Jet misery, the 1988 game where the Jets marched in the last few minutes and O'Brien hit Toon with a 5 yard TD in the last few seconds is an all-time great memory
It was a great game to watch. The Giants took the lead in the 4th. Simms was on fire that drive. But O'Brien matched him and then the defense held after the Toon go ahead TD! I opened the window of my Manhattan College dorm room and screamed as loud as I could! Crickets Almost everyone at school was a Giants fan. Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
I think you are you talking about the Pumpkin Game. One of the few games I left at half time. I'm pretty sure that game was in 1988. https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1988-10-19-8803010600-story.html
On my way to the game that day I walked into a deli to get coffee and rolls for me and my father. It was obviously a Giants' place and I had my green woolen Jets cap on. I almost got kicked out.
Now you are taking me back in time, Endlessly. Raul Allegre's name ranks right up there with: Ali Haji Sheikh, Donald Igwebuike, and Dean Biasucci as colorful kicker's names that I still remember from my early days of watching the NFL as a kid in the 80's, lol.
