For the first time in a long time, the Giants and Jets are both expected to field good football teams.
Last week, the Giants and Jets met in their annual preseason game. The Jets came out with the win. That’s great for them. What got the people talking, though, was some mic’d-up moments from HBO’s Hard Knocks.
After Jets Wide Receiver Randall Cobb gave Giants Safety Bobby McCain a concussion on an illegal crackback block, Giants Linebacker Jihad Ward responded. He pushed Aaron Rodgers late a few plays later, which didn’t sit well with Rodgers. After some jarring, Rodgers stated he didn’t even know who Ward was. Fair play; it was a good job.
Maybe when Rodgers watches film on the Giants before their matchup in October, this will remind him of who Ward is:
Random Jihad Ward clip from the Giants win v. the Packers pic.twitter.com/VzYEuG7vM7
— Talkin’ Giants (@TalkinGiants) August 30, 2023
Later on, Rodgers referred to MetLife Stadium as “JetLife Stadium.” Let’s also not forget that Robert Saleh said Jet fans were more passionate than Giants fans and even called Giant fans “Uppity-Ups.” The point I’m getting at is that this quote on quote, “Rivalry,” is always started by the Jets.
What makes everything about this so funny is that the Giants and Jets don’t have a rivalry.
They play each other every 4 years.
The fan bases have fun with each other, but there’s no reason to hate each other. In fact, I hope the Jets succeed this year. This city is a lot more fun when our football teams succeed. At the same time, deep inside of me, I am just a nut-job Giant fan, and anytime this happens, I have to at least throw my 2 cents in. My 2 cents are that this feels a lotttttt like the lead-up to the Giant Jet game from 2011.
When Rex Ryan was hired by the Jets in 2009, they had immediate success. They went to 2 straight AFC Championships. Heading into the 2011 season, the Giants and Jets were set to meet on Christmas Eve. In the lead-up to that, Rex Ryan ran his mouth, saying how he isn’t anyone’s little brother. Darrelle Revis stated that he didn’t know who Victor Cruz was. They even covered up the Giants Super Bowl murals in MetLife Stadium.
What happened was Victor Cruz went 99 yards, the Giants went on a run to a Super Bowl, and the Jets faded away into obscurity. To be fair, following the Super Bowl, the Giants went a decade without any success. The point is that the Jets have a ton of hype around them, and they are starting to run their mouths again.
I have been waiting for this game since January 2021. Robert Saleh insulted Giant fans by saying we weren’t passionate. Now, the Jets are giving the Giants players extra motivation. Oh, and I can guarantee that they’ll have even more to say leading up to their October 29th matchup. I wish the Jets success this season and pray for the Giants’ success.
The Jets are doing what they do every 10 years or so and creating a rivalry that doesn’t actually exist. Come October 29th, we’ll find out who has bragging rights in this town.
We’ll revisit this “rivalry” in about 2 months.
Let’s just get ready to watch the Giants beat the Cowboys next Sunday.
Photo: New York Giants
