On paper and on field, Giants worthy of fans' scorn
Giants fan Nathan Fioravante at the Giants-Washington Football Team game on Jan. 9, 2022 at MetLife Stadium. Credit: Bob Glauber/ Newsday
It was one last chance for Nathan Fioravante to see his beloved Giants, one last schlep from Langhorne, Pennsylvania, to say goodbye for now to the team for which his family has owned season tickets the last three decades-plus.
And one last chance from Section 146, Row 12 to show his abject disgust for yet another lost season at MetLife Stadium.
Wearing an autographed Craig Morton jersey he bought on eBay as a Christmas present for himself, Fioravante, 24, cut out holes in a brown shopping bag, affixed an empty Pepsi bottle to one side and placed it over his head. Written on the front: "Joe Judge Fan Club."
He watched from his seat in the corner of the end zone as the Giants completed their pathetic march to a 4-13 record with a 22-7 loss to the Washington Football Team on a cold, dank, damp afternoon that was as dreary as the game.
"I’ve been to every single game this year, and I just thought it’s a tradition that, whenever a team is bad, you’ve got to put a bag on," Fioravante told Newsday during the third quarter. "I just had to do it."
The empty soda bottle taped to the bag was a reminder of the giveaway the Giants had last month when the Cowboys came to town and season-ticket holders were given a free Pepsi. A medium Pepsi, that is. Fioravante didn’t even get that much, though.
"I went up [to the concession stand], and I said, ‘Hey, can I get my free Pepsi?’ " he said. "The woman didn’t know what I was talking about, so I got hot chocolates instead. I called the Giants the next day and complained, but I never got my free Pepsi. I’m just here to protest."
He bought the Morton throwback jersey, which had an original autograph, to mark the last time the Giants were this bad for this long. Morton was traded from the Cowboys to the Giants in 1975 for the No. 2 overall pick, which the Cowboys used on defensive lineman Randy White.
White became a Hall of Famer. Morton went 8-25 with the Giants, including 1-6 in 1974 and 2-10 in 1976. They traded him to the Broncos in 1977, and Morton went 12-2 to win the NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award and lead Denver to the Super Bowl.
"[Today’s] Giants are like the 1960s and '70s," Fioravante said. "It’s like that dark period, so I felt we’re in the same period right now and it’s a connection to another bad period. It’s the same thing."
It is indeed. Maybe even worse. The Giants finished their fifth straight season with double-digit losses (22-59). They’ve missed the playoffs nine of the last 10 years since winning Super Bowl XLVI. And they appear no closer to a Super Bowl now than they have been at any time since two-time Super Bowl-winning coach Tom Coughlin was shown the door after the 2015 season.
Giants fan Nathan Fioravante at the Giants game on Jan. 9, 2022 at Met Life Stadium. Credit: Bob Glauber/ Newsday
In fact, they might be further away now than at any time in recent memory. It sure feels that way.
The stadium appeared to be one-third full, and the pregame parking lots were as empty as I’ve ever seen them while covering Giants games dating to the 1985 season. The home team put on yet another wretched performance behind third-string quarterback Jake Fromm, and Judge’s team was hopelessly overmatched against a really bad Washington team that has its own quarterback issues.
They were so bad that Judge, who has authored a 10-23 record in his two seasons on the job, called for quarterback sneaks on second and third down when the Giants were inside their own 5-yard line. It was a give-up series of epic and embarrassing proportions; Judge was unwilling to have Saquon Barkley, Kenny Golladay or Devontae Booker at least try to get a first down. Instead, the Giants simply punted.
The only consistent cheers from the paltry crowd were derisive ones for seldom-used tackle Korey Cunningham. He was flagged early in the game for not reporting to the referee that he was an eligible receiver. He reported as eligible several more times during the game, and each time he was greeted with loud applause, befitting the horrid team for which he plays.
Then there was Fromm’s ill-fated pass attempt in the fourth quarter, as the ball slipped out of his hands and was ruled a fumble.
Shades of the moment a little more than 43 years ago that defined the depths to which the franchise had fallen: In the final seconds of a game against the Eagles at Giants Stadium on Nov. 19, 1978, Joe Pisarcik’s botched handoff to Larry Csonka was scooped up by Herman Edwards and returned for the winning touchdown.
It was rock bottom for that Giants team, and Sunday’s play — we’ll call it "The Fumble 2.0" — felt like another defining moment when Washington recovered the ball and went on to kick a field goal. Fittingly, the game and the season ended on Fromm’s interception near the Washington goal line.
Giants co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch have an epic cleanup job on their hands, which almost certainly will begin with Dave Gettleman’s ouster. He took pictures with family members on the field before the game, the latest indication that he will leave the team after a 19-46 record over four seasons. He’s gone.
Judge spoke after the game as if he’ll be back and already is looking to find answers for next season and beyond. But the owners must think seriously about whether Judge — who had never been a head coach at any level when he was named to lead the Giants exactly two years to the day before his team flopped on Sunday — is the answer.
Fioravante may have been the only one to show his disfavor for Judge’s team with the paper bag that covered his head, but rest assured there are thousands and thousands of others who are just as frustrated. Bringing back Judge is a deeply unpopular idea for many fans, and if they are to bring him back, Mara and Tisch must have supreme conviction about him.
It is a chance they may risk taking, but one that will backfire in colossal fashion if there is another season like this 4-13 nightmare.
Bob Glauber retired in 2022 after covering the NFL for nearly 40 years. He was selected in 2021 for the Bill Nunn Career Achievement Award by the Pro Football Writers of America, and is a three-time winner of the New York State Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. President of the PFWA for the 2018-20 seasons, he is the author of “The Forgotten First” and “Guts and Genius.”
