Past glory keeps Giants fans loyal
AS A playwright, I have nothing but admiration for Ed Siegel, the patriarch of theater critics in New England. But, as a lifelong fan of my beloved New York football Giants, I am compelled to reply to his Dec. 27 op-ed piece: "Rivalry comes full circle."
Even though I now live in Massachusetts - a state wherein a decent loaf of Italian bread cannot be found - I grew up in Providence, long before the AFL came into existence. We were Giants fans then, and Giants fans we've remained. Connerly, Tittle, Webster, and Gifford. Kyle Rote and Sam Huff. Robustelli, Modzelewski, Katcavage, and Grier.
We watched games in my parents' living room. My brothers and I stretched out on the rug, and the adults sat in chairs. We watched on black-and-white television every Sunday as the Giants strove as demigods in their battles with destiny. They usually won then. They usually made the championship game: 1956, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1962 and 1963.
Ah, but it was the 1958 game - the overtime game - that is etched in the granite of my mind. I was 10 years old, and I watched it unfold like the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. The back and forth scoring. The catch that Gifford made that no man should ever make. His run for the first down in overtime that missed by a foot. Then the drive by Johnny Unitas - steadily, inexorably, play after play, until Alan "The Horse" Ameche bulled his way into the end zone and snuffed out my last chance for happiness as a youth.
That never leaves you. Which is why we never left the Giants. We are the underdog in today's game - which is the way we like it.
BERNARD MENDILLO, Canton 