Giants fans left wondering what went wrong
Disappointed Giants fans were left wondering this afternoon what had happened to a season that looked so promising.
“It’s terrible,” said Eddie Nunez, 29, a Giants fan from Flushing, after watching his team go down 23-11 to the rival Philadelphia Eagles in the divisional round of the playoffs. “I was nothing but confident. I put a lot of money on this game.”
Whether the stakes were financial or just emotional, the couple hundred fans who packed into Blondie’s bar on the Upper West Side filed out subdued and perhaps stunned that the season is over.
“I’m so disappointed,” said Sai, 28, of the Upper West Side, who didn’t give his last name. “After winning our division this is ridiculous.”
At the Gin Mill on Amsterdam Avenue, a raucous crowd grew silent as the second half wore on. Several fans buried their heads in their hands after the Giants were stopped on a crucial fourth down late in the game.
“We’re in a complete depression,” said Randi Bandman, an Upper West Side resident. “I thought the Eagles were on a roll but I thought the Giants would win.”
Many fans said they were nervous going into the game, with the Eagles having won four of their last five and the Giants – who at one point were 11-1 this season – losing three of four.
“The Eagles had the momentum and they were playing well and the Giants haven’t been,” said Frank Guzman, 36, of Manhattan.
A smattering of Eagles fans at Blondie’s made themselves known with gleeful cheers every time their team made a big play.
“Nothing pleases me more than beating the Giants,” said Brent Regaldi, 32, an Upper West Side resident who grew up in Philadelphia. “I feel like 2008 is a year of destiny for Philadelphia: You have the Phillies coming out of nowhere to win and now you have the Eagles coming out of nowhere.”
Many Giants fans were reminded of their team’s improbable run last year, when they won three road playoff games and beat the undefeated Patriots in the Super Bowl.
“We thought we were going to have back-to-back but those don’t come along very often,” said Anthony D’Inverno, 28, of midtown.
D’Inverno, like many others, said the team looked flat, especially the offense, which didn’t score a touchdown and wasted several scoring chances.
He said next week’s game between the Eagles and the Arizona Cardinals would be a snoozer.
“Philly against Arizona for the NFC championship?” he said. “Are you kidding me?”
Comments (2)
Watching Eli's face on the sidelines was not instilling confidence in me. That coupled with his poor performance could not have led the team to a fourth quarter comeback. Why would we run the most feared back in the NFL an average of once a seies and why east to west on the north- south field ?
Boy, I am for a loss of words. I'm just so dissapointed that Big Blue's not going to Super Bowl XLIII. I believe you have the one man to thank for this disaster: one Plaxico Bur-freakin'-ress! Because of him bringing a gun to a bar and him about to go to jail eventually, it cost us a chance for a back-to-back SBXLIII victory. Nice going, Plax! It's all your fault!