Aug 9, 2014; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning (10) and New York Giants strong safety Antrel Rolle (26) during pre game warm up at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports
These past two weeks have been hard for the New York Giants and their fans. The team is slowly improving but too many mental errors have plagued them, sending many Giants fans into full-blown panic. Blame has been thrown around left and right and many are losing faith in a team that hasn’t given fans much to believe in this season. It’s times like these where team captains stand up and set a rallying cry for not just the fans to gravitate towards, but their teammates as well. That is exactly what team captain Antrel Rolle did this week.
Antrel Rolle Challenge
Rolle released the following statement on his Instagram yesterday: “I challenge the fans to be louder. I challenge all the fans in New York to be louder. And you know what? In order for them to be louder, we have to give them something to be loud about. I challenge ourselves to go out there and play better, to make more plays, to make them get into the game that much more because these fans help us out a lot. We really love when the crowd gets into the game.”
So the challenge has been issued by Rolle for not just Giants fans, but for his teammates as well to stand up and bring it on Sunday. This is a statement that Giants fans needed to hear because it shows that this team has plenty of fight left in it and that it’s way too early to be giving up on a team that has never given up on it’s fans. Let’s face it, we as fans are doing our team no favors by giving them nothing but negativity to feed off of and expect them to come out fired up on Sunday. Many fear a repeat of last year but last year was a completely different situation than this year with the new offense being installed and many new faces getting acclimated with each other.
Canes Warning
With that being said there are no excuses for this team not to perform, and Rolle backs that up by challenging his teammates to give us fans something to get loud for and get back to playing New York Giants football. I have no doubt the Giants faithful should answer the call and stand behind Big Blue loud and proud on Sunday. It’s up to the Giants now to step up to the challenge delivered by one of their team captains who also happens to be one of the strongest voices in the Giants locker room.
It will be a tough challenge when the Houston Texans come to town on Sunday, but this is a pivotal point for this Giants team and it’s fan base to come together as one to feed off each other and show the resolve that has defined generations of New York Giants football. Together we are the New York Giants and it has and always will be a together we rise, together we fall mentality in terms of a connection between this team and it’s fans. I believe this New York Giants team is far from finished despite the 0-2 start and one thing is for sure, this team will always fight until the end.
The question for fans is, will you stand with your team or take the easy route and quit on them and point fingers? The challenge has been issued and the only thing to do now is for both the Giants and their fans to bring it on Sunday.