That year in New York there was a terrible snowstorm mid-week before the game was to take place in Pasadena. There were all sorts of reports on the news of cancelled flights and people sleeping in the airport, renting cars, taking trains, anything to get to the West coast.  Our plans were to leave on Thursday and return Monday.  When we arrived at the airport in NY, there was a flood of people, some looking to buy tickets from other travelers (remember this was pre 9/11, no names on the tickets), some waiting for cancellations.  We made our way through the throng and onto our plane on time and took off for sunny California.  We landed and picked up our rental, a white Lincoln Town Car.  Again, this was the 80′s, they didn’t rent compacts and mid-size cars, as a matter of fact, almost everyone at the event had the exact same car.  We then made our way to Palm Springs ( where I now live), where we met the others in our party that had come out ahead of us.  They were staying at the famous La Quinta hotel and had played the brand new Stadium Golf Course that day.  We went to Tony Roma’s for dinner, a restaurant that is still operating today.  We had made plans to stay at the vacation home of a friends parents, which we got to late at night and didn’t really know where we were.  In the morning we awoke to look out the sliding glass doors to a beautiful golf course.  After a nice round of golf we returned to the house to find the rest of our party…12 people in all…had arrived.  Sunday morning at 8 A.M. we all met at a central location where we took a “team” picture complete with 16 Super Bowl Tickets! (more…)

The New York Football Giants of 1986 hosted the NFC Championship game at Giants Stadium 25 years ago this week.  It was a familiar match-up with the Division rival Washington Redskins.  It was also a contest against mother nature.

With winds whipping upwards of 30 miles an hour, the Giants and Redskins battled the elements all day.  Harry Carson, as the lone captain for the coin toss, called tails as always and wins the toss.  The words “We’ll take the wind” are now a part of Giants lore.  The Giants scored 10 first quarter points, and held Washington to just 2 first downs.  The Redskins punted three times in the first quarter and netted 23, 27, and 24 yards.  Behind 10-0, the Redskins mounted a drive in the 2nd quarter, only to have a botched snap on a field goal try of 51 yards.  The Redskins were doomed.  Jay Schroeder was forced to pass 50 times in this game, many of them futilely into the strong and gusting winds.  He finished the game 20-50 with a 3.8 yard average per pass.

After the 17-0 halftime lead, the Giants defense took over and made that the final score.  At the conclusion of the game, John Madden remarked “Last year, I thought the Bears had the best defense I had ever seen. But in the last two weeks, I feel these Giants have as good a defense as has ever played in this league.”  He was right.  They had now given up a total of 3 points in two playoff games.

The Giants, and their faithful fans, now started planning their trip to sunny Pasadena for a re-match with the John Elway led Denver Broncos.  Those of you who have been following this series of stories know that we already had plane tickets in hand, purchased the day after the Giants defeated the Broncos back in November.  It was quite a trip…stay tuned

The Giants on this week in 1986, faced the hated 49ers and Joe Montana in the Divisional Playoffs after a bye week.  The Giants entered this game as three point favorites, which we all know means the game was equal except it was being played in Giants Stadium.  This game was anything but equal.

Early in this game with the 49ers backed up in their own end, Jerry Rice caught a slant pass from Montana and was running free through the Giants secondary.  At about the 15 yard line of the Giants his knee hit the ball and he fumbled.  After a scramble, the Giants recovered the fumble, and never looked back.

In the second quarter Jim Burt delivered one of the most vicious blows in the history of the NFL on Montana and knocked him out of the game.  He almost knocked him out of the stadium. Burt Destroys Montana  On the play Lawrence Taylor intercepted the attempted Montana pass and returned it for a TD.  The Giants scored 21 points in both the 2nd and third quarters.  The Giants defense held the 49ers to just 29 yards rushing, and 184 total yards, with a 2 of 14 third down conversion rate.  The Giants on the other hand rushed for 216 yards.  The final was 49-3.

The Giants now looked forward to playing the Washington Redskins one more time, this time with a trip to Pasadena and the Super Bowl on the line.

The New York Giants (12-2) defeated the St. Louis Cardinals ( Yes..St. Louis)  27-7 to clinch the NFC EAST for the first time in history.  In front of the usual 75,000 plus fans Joe Morris ran for 179 yards and three touchdowns.  It was one of those true Giants days in that the offense gained 252  of their 313 yards on the ground.  Northeast Football at it’s Best!  The defense controlled the game in their usual fashion.  The Cardinals on their first four possessions suffered third down sacks on all of them. The defense set a franchise record that day recording nine sacks.  The Giants also continued their impressive run of lowering their penalty total per game.  They committed only two penalties for a total of ten yards on this day.

This machine was well oiled, running on most, if not all cylinders, and was poised for their historic playoff run.  One more tune-up against the outmanned Packers and it was home field advantage throughout the Playoffs.  An advantage that was very key to the Giants because of their ability to control a game in any weather.

Mark Bavaro was the original tough guy of the New York Giants.  He was a true, blue collar player who worked hard everyday, and in his own words said he did it in honor of the fans.  Bavaro made many big catches in his injury shortened career, but this one in San Francisco on a Monday Night awoke the entire offense for the rest of the regular season and on to a Super Bowl victory.  With the Giants trailing 17-0 at halftime, and having no success on the ground, ( As a matter of fact the Giants rushed for a total of 13 yards on 19 carries that night. ) Phil Simms took over in the second half and never looked back.  After the amazing Bavaro play, Simms hit Joe Morris for a 17 yard TD, followed that with a 34 yard TD pass to Stacy Robinson, and then hit Robinson again at the one to set up an Otis Anderson TD run….All in the third quarter.  The Giants had erased the 17 point deficit, and took the lead 21-17. From there the defense took their cue, and shut down Joe Montana and the 49ers. (more…)

That day in the stadium, after the Martin play, my friends and I decided this was a turning point in the season and the next day….remember no computers or internet in 1986….I went to the local travel agent and purchased 6 round trip tickets to Los Angeles for Super Bowl 21 at $200 a piece.  This act of confidence would pay off in the end…but that is a story for another week.