After the New York Giants won the Super Bowl in 2007 my dad and I went to our local(ish) Modell’s to purchase some Super Bowl merch. I went with the Plaxico Burress jersey. The next season he shot himself in the leg.
*side note, shout-out to my dad for buying the “Adult XL” so I can still wear that jersey to this day.
When I was in middle school I bought an Ike Davis Mets jersey. About 6 months later, Davis contracted a rare fungal infection called “Valley Fever” and was never the same baseball player again.
About a year later, I asked for a Zach Wheeler jersey for Christmas. The next spring, Wheeler was shut down due to inflammation in his elbow.
The point of all this is simple, sports fans are dumb, over-enthusiastic animals who invest so much time and money into something they can’t control, although some of us may think we can.
We love our cities and our teams. We expect every single player sporting the colors to do the same. For the most part that isn’t the case because at the end of the day, professional athletes are people. They want to make money and be successful. They are going to move to the place that gives them the best chance to do that.
Every once in a while we see an outlier. David Wright was built to be a New York Met. Larry Bird was destined to be a Boston Celtic. Lebron James loved his hometown city so much he left South Beach to move back to a dysfunctional Cleveland franchise.
Saquon Barkley was an outlier. A kid from the Bronx, Barkley grew up ingrained in New York culture. He was a mixed fan like myself. (Most New Yorkers are Mets/Jets or Giants/Yankees. Saquon leaned Jets/Yankees while my dad raised me on Mets/Giants)
His family then moved to a town outside of Allentown, PA, where the 27-year-old stayed local for school, leading Penn State to a Big 10 Conference Championship. Things then came full circle when Barkley returned to New York when he was drafted by the Giants with the second overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft.
The electrifying running back made an immediate impact, winning AP Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2018 before following it up with another 1,000 yard season. Barkley fought through injuries the next two seasons, but was able to come back to cement himself as a consistent top 5 running back in the NFL.
He did all this during absolute points of dysfunction and turmoil among the Giants brass and on-field staff. New York never provided their star with any kind of help. For the entirety of his time in the Meadowlands, he was the offense.
*Darius Slayton did his thing too, War Eagle.
Then John Mara and Dave Gettlemen gave $160 Million to Daniel Jones. Daniel Jones.
Now, let me bring you back to my point above. Professional athletes are people, just like you and me. I guarantee at least some of you reading this have been passed up for a promotion for someone less deserving. What was going through your mind? Was it a sense of undying loyalty? Probably not.
You were probably angry and wanted to move on. Don’t blame Saquon for doing the same.
Before I end this I should address Tiki Barber’s comments, although I really don’t feel the need to because he’s making an absolute fool of himself.
Saquon had said “I want to be a Giant for life. I mentioned that I want to be in the likes of Tiki [Barber], Michael [Strahan], Eli [Manning].”
New York didn’t offer him a contract. Philadelphia did.
You know what he didn’t do Tiki? He didn’t wine. He didn’t criticize his quarterback. He didn’t decide to call it quits halfway through the season. He didn’t retire the year before his future 2-time Super Bowl MVP quarterback won a Super Bowl.
I’m happy Tiki is making a smooth transition into the 2 PM radio world.
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