Boos for Barber, but Ring of Honor a huge hit

Contrary to popular belief, the Giants' Ring of Honor induction ceremony Sunday night was much more than a referendum on the popularity of former running back Tiki Barber, whose recent critical comments about coach Tom Coughlin made him a cause celebre in the past week.

It was about the Mara family and the Big Blue family they created that has played such a big part in NFL history.

But there's a black sheep in every family, and that's the role Barber played when it was his turn to be introduced as one of the 30 members of the club's inaugural Ring of Honor.

In between the raucous cheers for linebacker Jessie Armstead and wide receiver Amani Toomer, Barber's introduction was punctuated by a chorus of unrelenting boos. Even Lawrence Taylor, who was a no-show while facing serious legal problems, received unabashed affection.

Toomer smiled when asked before the game about Barber's likely reception. "That's on Tiki," Toomer said. "His true personality came out. I know he believes everything he says. Knowing Tiki the way I do, nothing surprised me about what he said about the organization because I know he had some issues with people. But he definitely deserves to be in the Ring because of what he did on the field.

"It's well-deserved."

Toomer admitted he, too, once wondered why Coughlin would harp on such details as how players wear their socks, but he came to appreciate the coach who took the Giants to their third Super Bowl title. Toomer recalled how Coughlin honored the team's tradition before the game by showing tapes of their previous Super Bowl victories as inspiration for upsetting undefeated New England.

That long tradition was honored, dating to the team's founding by original owner Tim Mara. It grew under his son Wellington, whose passion for the game and fundamental sense of decency set a tone the organization emphasizes to this day.

No one knows that better than Frank Gifford, who was the glamor running back for the Giants when they won the 1956 NFL title and when they lost the famous 1958 overtime game to the Colts, the game that really elevated the NFL into the mass public consciousness. "The most talked-about game was the one we lost," Gifford said ruefully.

Of course, Gifford was Wellington Mara's favorite Giants son. Each chose the other to introduce them at the Pro Football Hall of Fame induction. "He was my dearest friend," Gifford said, "and my mentor."

Through thick and thin, the constant for the Giants was the Mara family. Quarterback Y.A. Tittle, who led the club to three straight Eastern Division titles from 1961-63, said that when he came from the 49ers to the Giants, "The Maras treated my wife and I like kings and queens. They always cared for their players."

Now the most accomplished members of the Maras' extended family, including Barber, are gathered in one place, just as they should be.