Michael Strahan's 'Hall of Fame Ring of Excellence' highlight of night for Giants fans
Former New York Giant Michael Strahan is presented with his Pro Football Hall of Fame ring during a halftime ceremony against the Indianapolis Colts as former Giants and Hall of Famers Frank Gifford, left, and Harry Carson look on at MetLife Stadium on Monday, Nov. 3, 2014 in East Rutherford, N.J. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Michael Strahan was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Aug. 2. On Monday night, Giants fans who didn't make the trip to Canton got to honor Strahan as he was presented his "Hall of Fame Ring of Excellence" in front of 100 former Giants, including Hall of Famers Harry Carson, Frank Gifford and Lawrence Taylor.
Strahan appeared on the field moments after the current Giants were booed following a dismal first half.
Strahan and the rest of the former Giants are a reminder of better days, and they were welcomed as such by the appreciative crowd. "We are the New York Giants!" Strahan shouted at the fans.
Earlier Monday, Strahan welcomed many of the former Giants to his daytime talk show, "Live With Kelly and Michael."
The best part of the day, Strahan said before the game, was "seeing all the guys. There are several things: One is seeing all the guys who I've played with and haven't seen in years. A lot of them came to the show this morning, which was exciting, but a little nervous for me to do the show in front of them and the fans, obviously.
"The whole reason you get out here and you play and you do some things that you don't necessarily feel like are really possible, but you seem to make it happen, [is] from the energy from the fans," he said. So I'm looking forward to getting that one last time."
He got it.
Looking considerably lighter than in his playing days, Strahan donned his yellow Hall of Fame jacket and bowed to the crowd before accepting his ring and making a brief speech.
Earlier, he said: "Believe me, there's still a part of me that wishes I could put on a uniform and come out here and play tonight. That would be nice, but if I did that, I don't know how many plays I'd make, and then I'd definitely know I wouldn't be able to get out of bed in the morning . . . I'd love to sack Andrew Luck. The problem is catching Andrew Luck."
Like Gifford before him, Strahan has made the transition from football to TV. Strahan said he's just as well-known now that he's a morning talk-show host. "I look at that as a compliment to be able to go from sports to television and have people not just look at you as an athlete," he said. "I also know that without this, there is none of that. Football, my life to football, my life to this game, my life to the Giants and being here in New York and bringing me here in '93 and letting me hang around for 15 seasons." Strahan is the Giants' all-time leader in sacks with 141 1/2 and the NFL's single-season sack leader with 22 1/2 in 2001. When he retired after the 2007 season, he held team records for most seasons (15), most games (216) and most postseason sacks (9 1/2).
Strahan was a seven-time Pro Bowler, the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2001 and a member of the NFL's All-Decade Team of the 2000s.
Anthony Rieber covers sports media and business and professional sports (you know, games and trades and things). He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since Jan. 1, 2026.
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