A 'Giant' Thank You Card Goes a Long, Long Way

As far back I can remember, the New York Giants were a big part of our family fabric while growing up.

My dad, grandfather, uncles, aunts, cousins, neighbors and brother were all big New York Football Giant fans, even during very bad seasons in the early '70s when the team was awful and the Jets were the toast of the town with some flashy guy from Alabama that did panty hose commercials named "Broadway" Joe Namath.

My first real memory of the New York Giants was attending a game as a 6 year old boy with my dad and neighbor at Yankee Stadium in 1972 versus the Denver Broncos when the Giants had players named Norm Snead, Rocky Thompson, Spider Lockhart, Pete Gogolak and Bob Tucker. Even though they were not good at the time, they won the game 29-17.

What appealed to me was the fans, the camraderie,  the roar of the crowd, the sheer size and majesty of the old Yankee Stadium, the endless parade of food, and of course, the game itself.

Things for the Giants were pretty mediocre for the next few years, then fell into a painful franchise free fall when in 1979 their quarterback named Joe Piscarcik had probably the worst fumble in NFL history after losing a snap and losing a sure win versus the Philadelphia Eagles.  That fumble ended up dismantling the entire team, coaching and management staffs, and actually created the "take a knee" tactic that still stands today when a team is sure to win by protecting the football.

Since bottoming out, the Giants turned things around, and in 1981, beat their archrival Dallas Cowboys on a field goal by Joe Danelo to make the playoffs and win their division after years of futility.

That winning field goal was the very moment is when I became a true, blue Giants fan.

Three years later, while in college, I met my friend named Jimmy, who was, and still is, to this day, the biggest, craziest Giants fan I know.

While out one evening, Jimmy asked me if I was a Giants fan, to which I replied "yes, absolutely, I love the Giants".  He asked if I'd like to go to the game this coming Sunday, to which I replied "wow, I'd love to, great!"

That Sunday, I attended a game at Giants Stadium, where the Giants played the LA Rams.  It was a gorgeous September day, where I met and tailgated with Jimmy's family and about 10 other friends of theirs, who welcomed me with open arms.  The Giants lost, but I had so much fun at the game, I really didn't mind as the game seemed secondary.

The next day, I asked Jimmy for his father's mailing address, as I wanted to send him a thank you card for his generosity in offering me a ticket and his gracious hospitality at the tailgate party.  Jimmy gladly gave me his address. 

Three days later, Jimmy mentioned me a discussion that he had with his dad that went something like this:

"I received a card from your friend Doug thanking me for the Giant game.  In 35 years of taking people to games, no one has ever sent me a thank you card."

He then proceeded to say 17 words that have had as much impact on my life as anything:

"That kid Doug can go to any Giant game he wants to, here on out, on me." 

So, being a college student with little money and a suddenly renewed thirst for NY Giant football, I took up Jimmy's dad on his offer and attended every Giants home game in 1984 with Jimmy's family as if I was an adopted Giants child.

And 1985.

And 1986, the year they won their first Super Bowl (which I also attended with my dad).

And 1988 (1987 was a strike season, nobody cared).

And 1989.

During these years when the Giants were among the NFL's elite, during halftime of the games, I used to stop and visit my dear, sweet cousin Alana, who sat in my uncle's great seats on the 40 yard line, right behind the Giants bench.  Virtually every game I would visit Alana to say hello and catch up on family news.

In 1990, Alana married her husband, who was in the Coast Guard and moved from base to base, essentially out of the metropolitan NY area.

She asked if I wanted to have her 4 seats, on the 40 yard line, 21 rows behind the Giants bench, on the aisle, on the sun side of the field which had been in the family since 1958 (which makes a significant difference in the winter months.)  These seats were the football equivalent to owning Boardwalk on a Monopoly board, beachfront property in the Hamptons or a loft in Tribeca.  Titans of New York industry like the CEOs of American Express, CBS and Viacom sat behind her.

To which, after considering this proposal in the time of a New York minute (also known as 7 seconds), I heartily agreed.

Then for the next 19 seasons, from 1990 to 2010, I occupied these seats and closely witnessed some of the greatest NY Giants games and NFL players, including every playoff game and big game they've ever had, in either sun, sleet, rain or snow, no matter the weather.

Not to mention tremendous tailgate parties with Jimmy's family, who I now consider myself to be an extended member of.

Since the Giants now share the Stadium with the Jets and went to a Personal Seat License model to subsidize the cost of the construction, I no longer could afford to pay the outrageous sum they were asking for.  While opting for the more cost-effective alternative, my new seats still have a great view.

On the 50 yard line.

On the aisle.

In the tippy, tippy top row of the Stadium.  You know, Bob Uecker's seats.

So high up, the Snoopy Met Life virtually grazes the top of my head when it floats by.  

So do the F-16 fighter jets that do fly-bys before big games.

But nonetheless, as even though I have been displaced by Corporate America, I get to continue to attend great games in a state of the art facility and spend more memorable times with family and friends.

81,999 friends, to be exact.

To say I am very, very, very fortunate is an understatement. 

And it's all because of a "Thank You" card.

For those of you who are parents, you may want to share this story with your kids when you offer life's lesson that, even though it was an act of kindness that had no intentions of reaping an unbelievable reward and was just a simple gesture of gratitude, it does pay to be nice.

Absolutely, it does.

GO GIANTS!