John Delach

The Giants 2008 Improbable Playoff Season

Joe, our host from Big Blue had told us to be outside the hotel, checked out and ready to go by 9:45 a.m. When we woke up on Sunday morning, a low ground fog covered the hotel parking lot,  but the TV weather man promised it would burn off producing a bright and sunny day with temperatures in the high 70s. We first saw blue in the sky once we were on the bus which pulled out a few minutes after ten. The driver took us to a grass parking lot where Joe had arranged a tailgate catered by Sonny’s a Georgia/Florida BBQ chain. Mary Ann and I had eaten at their restaurants several times on car trips to Florida and I’ve always been pleased with their fare. I walked over to Joe and congratulated him on his choice, then added, “Joe, just one thing, the owners are Baptist and they don’t serve beer.”

“I know, I know.” Joe replied. “That’s why I used other sources to supply the beer.”

We discovered how close we were to the airport when two small private airplanes buzzed us on their landings. Joe announced that he had four additional field passes available and set up a contest for a second chance. One of the winners was a nine-year-old kid traveling with his dad. When Mike realized that the boy’s father didn’t win, he told me, “Pop, I’m going to give my pass to his dad. I know how I’d feel if one of my boys had to go on the field without me.”

Damn, I was proud of my son, but all I could say was “good for you.”

The word buzzed around the tailgate about what Mike had done. Everyone took joy in it. Then Joe said, “Oh, what the heck, I can get another pass. Mike, you’re coming on the field, too.”

The field pass group left early. I joined a group of guys heading for Raymond James Stadium. I had been there once before for Super Bowl XXXV. Once again, we were in the upper deck. Last time we were in Row BB. This time we were in Row Y, three rows in front of BB. These seats are a long way from the playing field, high and far back, I later joked with friends that we were so high that when the Florida Air National Guard did their flyover in their A-10 Warthogs, Mike got the pilot closest to us to autograph his program.

Mike arrived just before kickoff; he had much to tell me. “Dad, it was great. I got to see and say hello to several players. I saw Tiki Barber and his family. I hugged Tiki and told him that he’s my hero and I don’t boo him when his photo is shown at Giants Stadium. I asked Tiki’s son, ‘Who are you going to root for, today, your father’s old team or Uncle Rondi, (Tiki’s brother playing for the Bucs)?’ He replied, ‘The Giants,’ but I wasn’t too sure that he meant it.”

“I also met Jonathon Tisch, (Co-owner of the Giants) and told him his father would be proud of this team.”

It was hot by kickoff. To pump up their fans, the Buccaneers had put battle flags in holders in front of every seat. Our section was about 75% Giants fans so many went unclaimed. I took a red flag and a white flag put them under my feet and vowed that I would take them home if the Giants won.

The first quarter was all Bucs and hot. The sun took its toll on me and after the game, Mike asked, “Dad, did you doze off during the first quarter?”

“I sure did, Mike, a couple of times. It wasn’t until the Giants got going that I came alive.”

And so they did. After spotting their nemesis, Jeff Garcia, (the Bucs quarterback) a touchdown at the end of a long drive, the Giants came back with two touchdowns scored by the guest of honor at last night’s cocktail party, Brandon Jacobs. One by land and one by air; he gave Big Blue a 14-7 half time lead becoming the first Giant to do this in a playoff game.

 A fumble recovery on the Bucs opening kickoff led to a Giants field goal and a 17-7 lead. The Giants then ran a lengthy drive that continued into the fourth quarter culminating in a touchdown pass from Eli Manning to Amani Toomer: Giants 24-7.

After the score the Bucs public address announcer shouted to the crowd that the Bucs drive of the day was their first touchdown. Fully revived, I shouted back, “:Yeah, and their second-best drive of the day will be the drive home.”

Garcia did lead them to a second touchdown, but took too much time off the clock in the process. Still, he did get one more chance, but the Giants intercepted a sideline pass and the game was over: Giants 24, Bucs 14.

The walk back to the bus and the mini-tailgate at the bus were superb.  A good number of Bucs fans treated us with warmth and humor, congratulating us and wishing us well. Needless to say, the driver received a substantial tip. The trip to the airport was short and sweet. Mike and I used curb-side check-in.          

Exhausted but feeling very good, my son and I toasted each other, the Giants and all the players who contributed to today’s victory. We chose a seafood restaurant in the airport’s food court across the corridor from a Friday’s that was chock-a-block full of boisterous fans decorated in game jerseys, tee shirts and golf shirts bearing the Giant colors and logos.

Quiet was a nice change from the atmosphere where we’d spent the afternoon, high in the noise and sun of the upper deck of Raymond James Stadium. We ordered our drinks and food from menus and enjoyed a quiet dinner sharing our joy that the Giants were still in the playoffs.

A fellow from our travel group stopped to invite us to join a few fans watching the late game on TV at the far end of the restaurant.

 “Sure, we’ll see you when we finish.”

The Giants 2008 Improbable Playoff Season

Who knew? Turn back the clock to that late December game in Buffalo against the Bills. The Giants were trailing, Eli was struggling and the wind, rain and snow, all conspired to break Big Blue compelling the Giants to look forward to the following weekend and force a victory from the omnipotent Patriots on Saturday night in Giants Stadium. Doubt, yes there was doubt. Once again, it seemed that the situation was in doubt and our season was over.

But amazingly, Big Blue rallied in spite of the weather to defeat Buffalo, guaranteeing a spot in the playoffs. I called my son and said, “Michael, if the opening round is against Tampa, let’s go. But if we’re playing Seattle, that’s too far to go for me.”

He agreed. When the Redskins stumbled making them the last seed, our trip to Tampa was secured regardless of the outcome of our game against the Pats.

The debate in New York on the sports talk shows preceding the Giants-Patriots game centered on the issue of whether or not Coach Tom Coughlin should play his starters in an effort to prevent the Patriots from achieving a perfect regular season record of 16-0. The smart money seemed to say that the Giants should rest as many starters as possible on the theory that the game meant nothing to the Giants and that preparing for the playoff game against Tampa the following week was more important. Coach Coughlin would only say, “I will do what I consider to be in the best interest for the team.”

Coughlin’s plan was to bring all of his weapons to bear and take it to the Patriots. The result was a hell of a game that the Patriots won despite a strong effort by Eli Manning who threw four touchdown passes and the New York defense put up a good fight. But the Patriots controlled the game and won. Curiously, the losing team and their coaching staff walked away with a swagger, a swagger that they could compete with the elite teams in the NFL

Only the two older veterans from Super Bowl XXXV, Amani Toomer and Michael Strahan, had rotten things to say about the game. Other than them, it seemed that the rest of the organization, team, coaches, office staff, and the media itself were energized by this defeat.

The overwhelming attitude in New York was that indeed, we can compete with any team in this league.

Still, the press lingered on Coach Coughlin’s decision to play the game as he believed it should be played. Three starters were hurt against the Patriots, center Shawn O’Hara, cornerback Sam Madison and linebacker Kawika Mitchell. Another controversy for scribes and talking heads with too much time on their hands, but the simple truth was that all three of these players would have played in that game regardless of whom Coughlin sat.

Michael and I signed up with Big Blue Travel and flew to Tampa from LaGuardia on a crowded American Airlines MD-80 after an hour plus delay caused by the need to replace two faulty pressurization switches. The travel group’s representative, Joe met us in Tampa where we boarded a bus that took us to our hotel, the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.

Located several miles east of Tampa alongside Interstate 4, the hotel was built in an area zoned for light industry, outdoor supply depots for utilities, trucking firms, a large Budweiser distribution facility and several other rag-tag light industry operations. A few strip malls offered day care services, laundries, soul food eateries and bail bondsmen. Sub-standard housing shared the remaining space, mostly small single story dilapidated bungalows surrounded by chain link fences guarded by Pit Bulls and other watch dogs. Mike and I walked this domain on Saturday morning. “Mike, it seems kind of obvious why they built the casino here. It’s close to the interstate and away from anyone with clout who’d object to it.”

We did find a Shell station close to the hotel where we could buy beer and wine for our room. But when Michael brought back a twelve pack, one of the guards who checked his room card before allowing guests onto the elevators told him, “You can only take two beers at a time.”

 “Okay Mike what did she tell you to do with the other ten?”

“Check them with the bell hop. So that’s what I did, but the bellhop was the same guy you tipped for bringing up our bags. He said to me, ‘This is bullshit. They change the rule every day. Go up to your room, get a small carryon bag and put the beer inside it. She can’t check the contents of your bag.”

“That’s what I did. I grabbed a bag, went out into the parking lot, filled it and brought the ten bottles back to our room.”

We had a large room with two queen size beds and a nice big bathroom. Our room was non-smoking, but the lobby was full of smoke most of it coming from the adjoining slot machine casino. A casino of wheel chairs, ‘Mister Mobility’, walkers, canes and other devices. Florida 2008; if you build it, they will come.

I worried that the hotel restaurants would suffer the same fate as we were captive in the hotel since Tampa was a $40 cab ride away. Fortunately, these restaurants were non-smoking.

On Saturday afternoon, we joined the other fans in our group around the pool and the pool bar. The weather was only fair, but brilliant when compared with January in New York. We met Tony from Hoboken and his entourage. Honestly, they looked like they had stepped off of the set of the Sopranos. We were informed that sanitation trucks, produce trucks and construction equipment didn’t move in Hoboken unless Tony said that it was okay.

The Big Blue cocktail party on Saturday night was fair and Mike and I weren’t sorry we ate at the buffet first. Roy White, the former Yankee star, was on hand as was Brandon Jacobs, the Giants primary running back.

Our host, Joe, announced that he had two pre-game field passes to give out. “My son is putting posted-notes up on the wall with the numbers 1 to 60. That’s how many there are of us so each one of you should take one. I’ll announce the two winning numbers.”

Mike and I went over. He took 11 for Phil Simms and I took 14 for Y.A. Tittle. Then we heard Joe say, “No, put the numbers back, my son isn’t finished.”

Dutifully, we put the numbers back, but Mike used his height to paste them high up the wall. When Joe said it was alright to retrieve the numbers, I watched a chap jump as high as he could and grab one of the numbers Mike had parked. Mike grabbed the remaining one, Number 11. “Don’t worry Dad, take this one.”

I looked down and saw a 6. Mike said, “It’s Roy White’s number.”

When Joe called the group to order he said, “The numbers I’ve selected are our two guests’ Number, 6 for Roy White and 27 for Brandon Jacobs.”

“Damn!” I said. “But Mike, you take it, you selected it.” Before he could object, I continued, “It’s far more important that you get on that field tomorrow than me.”

Before we returned to our room, we stopped at the gift shop to buy a disposable camera for Mike to take with him on Sunday morning

I have changed the names of the doctors in my piece.

On Friday, August 22, Mary Ann and I met with Doctor Neal King. to discuss a possible revision of my right hip. I had been put into contact with this orthopedic surgeon by my regular orthopedist, Dr. Frank Pella had explained: “He’s a bit quirky, but he’s one of the best at performing a hip revision surgery.

For those readers who are not familiar with the expression “Hip revision,” it refers to an operation that removes a defective artificial hip replacement and replace it with a new one. In 2012, I had my original right hip replaced. All went well until ten years later when I began to develop pain in that area. Long story short, turns out that my replacement hip had been recalled because it was shedding cobalt and chromium.

The more investigating that I did, the more I became aware that a revision is considerably more complicated than the original hip surgery and the recovery is longer and harder. Still, I remarked to Mary Ann on the very day we drove to Doctor King’s office, “Mary Ann, I am starting to accept that this operation is inevitable.” 

We arrived for our appointment on Marcus Avenue in Lake Success a bit early and were taken to the X-Ray room before we did anything else. I was fourth in line and, when the technician was finished,  I was told to return to the main waiting room  where we waited and waited. Finally, sometime after noon, we were taken to a waiting room where we waited for Doctor King.

Now, after Doc Pella had said Doc King was a bit quirky, I looked him up. Dr. King’s bio included a photo of a large man in a dark suit with a neatly trimmed beard sporting a large, bright, nicely tied bow tie.

Finally, when the door to the examination room opened, it took me a few moments to adjust to the sight of this slovenly man with whispering hair moving in many different directions. Instead of a suit, he wore old, worn, ripped and ill-fitting hospital scrubs. His beard, like his hair, was grey and straggly. At first, I couldn’t believe that this was the same chap I saw in the photo. It was only when I could see his name stitched onto his shirt that I accepted that this was Dr. King.

He was almost all business. He insisted on finding the degree of cobalt and copper that my hip was shedding. Mary Ann said the cobalt was a seven out of a possible 300 and copper was merely a one. After reading this, Doctor King took the chair on the opposite side of the room across from the two of us and addressed me in no uncertain terms.

“I wouldn’t recommend this surgery even if your score for shedding was as high as 40 or maybe even 80. That would be true even if you were a much younger man, but since you are over eighty, I wouldn’t agree to it unless the score was in triple digits! This operation is f**king difficult and it could leave you crippled and unable to walk. Don’t proceed with this surgery.”

This was a startling statement. No other doctor had ever mentioned that an operation may not  be a workable alternative for me and for a surgeon to proclaim this was something I never thought I would hear.

What a relief, what whole new chance to continue living without subjecting my body to life as a cripple. Thanks be to God and thanks be to Doctor King and honest surgeon. I thanked him for being this honest and candid with me. “Doctor King, I have been terribly concerned about submitting myself to this operation and what it could do to my body. Now I have absolutely no reason to challenge you and as far as I’m concerned, the possibility of going forward is gone now and forever.”

We talked about a follow-up in 2026, but I have no intention of going back to him ever again.

One of the first thing I did was to contact a travel agent and reinstate our reservation for a cruise on Norwegian Cruise Lines to New England and Canada beginning on August 31^st.

The cruise went well and Mary Ann and I had a blast and returned home last Sunday.

I’ll deal with future pain should that become an issue and continue to live my life with absolute thanks for this change of fortune.