The Hornets dominate the Spurs in game 1. The Hawks take the Celts to game 7, Two young, athletic teams making the older guy look bad, espcially Pierce In game six, who looked fifty in the fourth quarter. Will there be a changing of the guard in the NBA this year?
How about the Knicks? What can Donny Walsh do with that mess? What exactly will Zeke’s function be—getting the coffee and doughnuts?

Should the Giants institute a pre-game war dance? Google HAKA to see how the New Zealand Blacks handle one.

How brutal is it to be a Giants fan in Philadelphia?

I really can’t say enough how great it is to have watched this last championship run by the New York Giants this past year. As a 29-year old Giants fan, I barely remember the 1986 season and have vague memories of the 1990 championship, but wining a Super Bowl in my formative years has been such an amazing thing. This has been made all the more sweeter by living in what only can be described as "Giants’ Fan Hell" – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

It’s not as if I’m not used to this – I went to college and then spent six year living in Washington, DC. But there were so many transplants living in the nation’s capital that it became a rare occurrence when you met s real Redskins fans. Most of my interactions with Redskins fans came with the weekly arguments I had with my dry cleaner, who was a die-hard fan and hated the Giants with a passion. But this came no where close to what it’s like living in Philadelphia.

Make no bones a bout it: Eagles fans are certifiably insane. There’s Eagles banners hanging from every doorway, there’s giant inflatable Eagle dolls in front of storefronts, everyone wears an Eagles hat or jersey and the main topic of conversation throughout there year is the Eagles. During games I can hear the cheers coming from every house when the Eagles score, and then the screams of dismay when they inevitably lose. It’s maddening.

I suppose the worst part of being a Giants fan in Eagles country comes while I’m at work. At one point I mentioned too loudly to a co-worker that I was a Giants fan – all of a sudden you can hear the shouts over the cubicle walls – "who’s a Giants fan?", or "you root for the Giants?" It was almost like I had a scarlet letter on me. Then again, I was the only one walking through the office the day after the Super Bowl; head held high, beaming with delight, after watching the underdog Giants beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl (in what will go down in history as one of the greatest upsets of all time). That may have been one of the best days in my life.

Anyway, this turned out to be a much monger post that I meant it to be – so sorry for the ramblings. I want to add that I really love the site – I discovered it during last season and it’s been a great resource for all the necessary and relevant team information. Thanks to ETVal for all the hard work and if there’s any other Giants fans in the Philadelphia area please speak out – we may have to hold some sort of clandestine meeting during the year to discuss the difficulties living in such an abrasive and harsh city.

Congratulations on your new job. What do you do?

How old are you?

Also, since this is a thread about anything have you been watching the Rangers series?

Oooooooh … you want me to reveal my personal secrets, eh? No biggie. I’m 47. Became a Giants’ fan during what George calls ‘The Wilderness Years.’ Used to sit - w/my dad - and All-City fullback/nose tackle—every Sunday and listen to him complain about how the Giants defenders didn’t have a clue. I suffered until Bill Parcells and LT came along. As for the Rangers, I’m not a hockey guy. Love the Yanks, love the Giants, love to pick on the Knicks since I am really a closet Celtics fan (have been since the John Havlicek days).

Back in the days of Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito I was a huge Bruins fan. When Brad Park and the Rangers came to town it was just like the Yankees/Red Sox. A great rivalry. They always beat the crap out of each other. And they didn’t wear any helmets then.

I haven’t watched much hockey since I moved to South Carolina about 30 years ago ( damn, can it be that long?) but a good friend of mine is a diehard Rangers fan and talked me into watching the playoffs this year. I have to say that the games are very exciting this year and high definition TV makes it possible to follow the puck more easily and really gives you the feeling you are in the stands.

I was born in Schenectady, NY and grew up around fans of many teams. Some were Jets fans, some were BIlls fans, and some were Giants fans. My dad has always been a diehard Giants fan and even had season tickets for a few years, and my mom would beat you up if you spoke negatively about the Giants. I can sympathize with those talking about “lean years”, and I remember my dad and mom both talking about horrid defense and screaming at the TV (or hurting someone’s ears in the stadium).

My father worked (for a doctor’s laboratory) in blood analysis, and the transition from machines/paper copies to digital analysis/paperless data.

As opportunities for new start-ups became available, my father would throw his hat in and move so that he could help with frequently asked questions and support about setup and such. That meant that our family steadily moved southward until we hit Georgia; we moved almost as regularly as the average military family. By the time my college career began, I had been in Georgia for a year.

I know that Giants fans in Philly have it tough, but imagine this – Wearing a Giants hat or jersey in Georgia…...people look at you as if you’re an alien! I swear the first time I fueled up in Georgia, I think I heard banjos playing in the background. “You ain’t from around heeeere are ye son? (spit…. cough cough)” is the most popular response I got for several weeks. The people here only are accustomed to hearing of the Falcons and Vick and dog-fighting and dipping lol . God forbid you wear something that doesn’t support the Falcons or the Bucs! If I had a dollar for everytime someone asked me if the hat I wear is a SF Giants hat…...geez

It’s really not bad here but there are few Giants fans to hook up with. My son, though, is as die-hard as they come and he lives and breathes New York Giants football; he is literally ‘up to the minute’ on all things Giants. So, for the most part, we band together and watch most of the games via satellite and we get to go to some Giants games at various times.

What has been the coolest, though, was being able to pass something on that my dad passed on to me: Going to a SB and seeing the Giants WIN! My son supported the Giants through everything, got ridiculed at school and all, only to be able to hold his head high when everything was said and done. That kind of thing is so cool when you get to see it develop and play out. Now he wears his Shockey and Manning and Burress jerseys with even more pride!

I love posting open threads like this every so often. You see sides of people and find out things you never would have. Big Blue View is not SB Nation’s largest blog, though our community is continuing to grow. I must say though, that you guys are a terrific group to be associated. Young, old, guys, girls—all passionate Giants fans and friendly people. Doing this site can get tedious at times, but you guys make it worthwhile.

But better late than never, or, as my elementary school gym teacher (who was a HUGE Giants fan, incidentally) used to say, “you can call me anything you want, as long as you don’t call me late for lunch!”

A few things about me…
- Before the rollover I posted as plain “Josh” but once SBNation went to the new platform that name was reserved for some guy who posts to Pats Pulpit (I can only assume, on that basis, that he’s probably a smug prick), so JoshNY it became.
- I took a while to find this thread because I spend much of my blog time over on AmazinAvenue during the summer.
- I’m a big Rangers fan and am a little disappointed that there’s no Rangers blog on SBNation.
- I grew up in New Jersey and inherited all my pro sports allegiances from my NY-born father, thus Rangers instead of Devils, Mets instead of Yankees.
- I’m 30 so I should remember the 1991 SB win but I’m embarrassed to admit that I really have very little recollection of it at all.