Being A Giants Fan Is Really Hard And You Should Feel Bad For Us

This was something I've been thinking for awhile, but after last night's heartbreaking loss, I was finally ready to say it publicly. I knew Twitter would be too pea-brained to understand what I'm saying. I was prepared for the exact reaction I got. People saying "Oh you can't complain when you've won two Super Bowls!" "A lot of teams have it worse!" "Don't downplay the Super Bowl wins!" Etc. Etc. Etc. 

Nate was especially not happy with me. He sent me a text saying, "I'm actually VERY seriously mad at you over this and I want to murder you because of it."

Let me make it very clear that I am not complaining about the Super Bowl winning seasons AT ALL. Those were incredibly special and both runs gave me some of the best sports moments of my life. I'd argue that those Super Bowl runs were more fun because they did come out of nowhere and weren't expected and just felt like magical rides. Wouldn't trade those two runs for the world. I'm not saying I'd rather go 13-3 and lose in the playoffs or anything like that. Super Bowl wins do trump all. 

All I'm saying is that the Giants have not been able to put together a consistent, contending, winning football team in my lifetime. They have won 12 games ONCE in the past 21 seasons (I am already conceding this will not be a 12 win year). Again, the Super Bowl runs were amazing, but every Giants fan with eyeballs knows they weren't exactly a juggernaut during those seasons. They were very talented teams that got hot at right time behind the magic of Eli Manning and a vicious pass rush. But it's not like they were blowing teams out those seasons. No game was ever easy. And I know it's the National Football League and no game is ever easy, but it does truly feel like the Giants have played more nail biting, close games than anyone in the past 15 seasons. I have no stats to back that up, but based on my gut, I'm pretending it's a fact. And again I AM NOT COMPLAINING ABOUT THOSE SUPER BOWL RUNS and saying "Oh they weren't satisfying enough because they weren't blowing teams out." I'm just simply saying that if you're trying to refute my main point, which is that the Giants have never been able to put together a truly great, consistent contender in my life, then you can't use those Super Bowl runs to dispute me. 

2008 was the closest they came. They were stacked that season and started 11-1. A repeat seemed imminent. But then Plaxico shot himself and everything went down the drain. Then no playoffs until the Super Bowl in 2011. Then no playoffs until 2016, when they were a wild card and got blown out by the Packers in the infamous boat game. But that team was kind of smoke and mirrors and never felt like a true Super Bowl contender. And they have not made the playoffs since then. In fact, they are actually THE WORST TEAM IN FOOTBALL since then. That's a real fact. The Jets, Lions and Jaguars exist. But the Giants have been worse than them all. 18-48. No other team has that many losses. This is the fifth straight season they're starting 0-2. It's fucking pathetic. 

And that is an organizational failure that starts with the Maras, who are the most overrated owners in sports. All we used to hear about is how the Giants are this pristine, classy organization who does things the right way. But that's such a load of bullshit. They've botched a ton of situations. The Josh Brown case. Everything with Odell. Having high draft pick after high draft pick and missing on almost all of them. The end of Tom Coughlin's tenure and when he stonewalled John Mara at his farewell press conference. Being on their third coach since him (in the sixth season). There's other stuff I'm sure I'm forgetting too. And the most embarrassing thing of all is the losing. All the losing. One playoff appearance in nine seasons. One division win in 12 seasons. 2 seasons with a playoff win in the past 20 seasons (albeit they were Super Bowl seasons but again, just follow the overall point here). 

It just would be nice, for once, to have a team that's like 9-3 in November and be excited to watch a game and expect a win. Instead of expecting every game to be either a heartbreaking loss or a nail biting win. Instead of dreading every game and know it's going to be torture, it would be nice to just root for a great football team. That's all I ask. Plenty of other teams have put together sustained stretches of being a contender. It shouldn't be such a grandiose ask for the Giants to maybe do that once instead of being 1-7 every year. 

And sure, I know other teams have it worse. They haven't won any Super Bowls. They haven't won any playoff games. They don't have any 12 win seasons. Yada yada yada. But just because other teams have it worse doesn't mean you can't complain about your own team! As I said, they have literally been the worst team in football for a 5 season stretch. But we're not allowed to complain about that? And to boot, the Giants have had countless heartbreaking losses over the past decade. Matt Dodge. Jake Elliot. Graham Gano (before he was a Giant). Daniel Jones fall. The Odell Josh Norman game. The entire 2015 season. The list goes on. And I don't even need to explain those further. 

So I won't apologize for expecting greatness. Not getting upset over losses and bad season after bad season because we won a Super Bowl 10 and 14 years ago is loser mentality. I speak for a lot of those Yankees/Giants fans who say we expect to win every year, and any year we don't is a disappointment. And in the Giants case, I would just like if every season wasn't over by October. So don't tell us we can't complain. I'm going to continue crying and complaining and pouting and stomping my feet as long as the Giants continue to be a dog shit, embarrassing organization with no hope in sight and no one can stop me.