I recently got into what the kids call a Twitter beef over the New York Giants’ chances of winning their first game of the season against the Pittsburgh Steelers. My online combatant had many good, well-qualified arguments as proof that the Giants will surely lose that game. He may not be wrong. This is true.
What baffles me though is a person’s complete unwillingness to have any sort of faith in their team. It’s one thing to say here are a few reasons they might lose but hopefully, they can find a miracle. It’s something else entirely to be more confident in your team losing than finding an empty subway car during rush hour.
Sport is about many things but one of its pillars is faith and the power of belief. If every fan sat in front of their TV, turned on their radio, or went to the game expecting their team to lose before the opening kick-off then what’s the point of sport at all?
Sport is meant to inspire and give people hope. It’s that overcoming adversity that drives people from every walk of life to join together and watch with the sort of zealotry that most religions can only dream of.
The New York Giants have a lot of things to be excited about and a lot of reasons to dream a little bigger than the nightmares of all those naysayers. Daniel Jones is entering year two and he may have to learn a whole new offense but he also looks ready to hold onto the ball a little better. He’ll also be much more equipped to handle the intensity of the NFL. Saquon Barkley is 100% healthy, which is reason enough to feel at least a little hopeful.
Speaking of a new offense, new offensive coordinator, Jason Garrett, should inject it with some new life, and if he leaves at the end of the year to be a head coach somewhere else that can only mean the team exceeded expectations. They also have a new head coach, Joe Judge. He might be a rookie himself, he might be working in less than ideal conditions but he is new and that’s a blank canvas if nothing else. He might lead the team to an 0-16 record but he might just surprise everyone.
We have some talented veterans joining the squad like James Bradberry and a few potentially breakout stars in rookies Andrew Thomas and Xavier McKinney.
I’m not saying the Giants are going to win the Super Bowl this year. I’m not that crazy. What I am saying is have hope. I’m hopeful they’ll do better than they did last year. I’m saying that without a single down of football in the books this season I’m hopeful they might just beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in their opening game. Now they might win and they might not but right now I’m going to have some faith. I encourage you to do the same.