Ex-Giant Chris Canty tells a great 2011 Super Bowl story

Making the last game of the year is an incredible accomplishment. However, it’s one thing to make it to the Super Bowl and another to win it.

Former New York Giants’ defensive tackle Chris Canty took us back to his own Super Bowl memories on the Hahn, Humpty, and Canty radio show.

“The guys always made the point. They [Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora] said ‘Listen guys, it’s awesome to be here, but it’s even better to win it, right?’ Canty said of the message the Giants’ Super Bowl veterans had for the players that had never been there before. “You don’t want to go to a Super Bowl and then be the team that loses in the Super Bowl. Who the hell wants to be that team? Who wants to be those guys?”

But what is that like? There’s no such thing as an easy loss, but Canty proceeded to put it in a perspective everyone could appreciate.

“I remember when we pulled up to the airport the day after we won the Super Bowl to get on the plane to fly out,” Canty said. “The Patriots had actually beat us to the airport, they’re all boarded. The airport in Indianapolis made them wait, we boarded and took off first. Like, who wants to be the team that loses it? We got guys on their cell phones recording the Patriots, saying ‘bye losers! Bye! Safe travels back to New England!’ ”

“You think about it,” Canty continued, “Tom Brady and those guys, they had that experience. You think they want to be that team again in Houston? You think they want that to happen? Wanting to win is one thing, but hating to lose — especially on that stage — is another. And when you have a quarterback like Tom Brady, that’s that competitive, you have to believe that’s in the back of his mind. Wanting to take advantage of this opportunity, and oh, by the way, be able to prove Roger Goodell wrong in the whole “Deflate-Gate” fiasco. And oh, by the way, make a statement about him being the greatest quarterback of all time.”

Canty’s message to the Super Bowl teams? Don’t be the last plane on the tarmac.