Why I’m a fan of the New York Giants

Welcome to the refreshed Big Blue View! To celebrate the new look and feel of our sports communities at SB Nation, we’re sharing stories of how and why we became fans of our favorite teams. If you’d like to share your story, head over to the FanPosts to write your own post. Each FanPost will be entered into a drawing to win a $500 Fanatics gift card. We’re collecting all of the stories here and featuring the best ones across our network as well. Come Fan With Us!

Hi, my name is Chris, and I’m a fan of the New York Giants.

I’m also a writer here at Big Blue View, and while I strive for objectivity in my writing, I was a fan first. Some of our newer members might wonder why some refer to me as “RaptorChris,”, or just “Raptor.”

Well, the reason for that is that “Raptor22” used to be my username.

I was just another fan reading and commenting until Ed plucked Invictus and I out of the comments section and asked us to join the staff.

It looked something like this:

As you may have noticed, SB Nation is undergoing some changes. They are designed to answer user feedback and improve the fan experience. As a part of that we wanted to share why we’re fans of our teams.

Everyone’s fandom is different, and everyone has a different story about how they came into their fandom. I like to think my story fits in well with the story of the Giants as a franchise.

As most Giants fans know, the Giants are a family business. The franchise was founded in 1925 by Tim Mara, who later passed it on to his sons Wellington and Jack. In 1991 Bob Tisch became part owner with a 50 percent stake in the franchise. In time Wellington passed the keys to John Mara, and Bob passed his half to Steve Tisch — the Giants' current owners.

My fandom started with my grandfather, not too long after the Giants were founded. Perhaps not coincidentally, he was also a fan of the New York Giants baseball team before they moved to San Francisco (fun fact, he was drafted by the Brooklyn Dodgers but couldn't afford the ticket down to spring training).

Back when my dad was a kid (shortly after the incention of the picture), there was only one TV in the house, and Papa was the one who decided which of the three chanels it was tuned to. So its a small wonder thaty dad became a Giants fan (though he rebelled with baseball and became a Yankees fan). On the other side if the family, my mom's uncle (who is like another grandfather to me) might be the biggest fan in the family. He still tells stories of watching Fran Tarkenton scrambling and making plays and even of getting to meet Bill Parcells.

Finally I'd be remiss if I didn't mention my cousin Mike. He was a big part of my early sports education, and I like to think his investment has paid off — especially when we can sit at the end of the table and talk football at various family gatherings.

In short, my fandom is a family affair, handed down from one generation to the next. Just like, I like to think, the Giants themselves.

I've always been a Giants fan. I can dimly remember Phil Simms dropping back and LT terrorizing opposing offenses. A bit later i distinctly remember being mystified at all the kids who were suddenly Cowboys fans in the early 90's ("You're from New York? How can you be a fan of a team from Texas?"). I can still hear the campus at SUNY Albany erupting when David Tyree hauled in that catch and Eli Manning put the final nail in the Patriots' perfect season.

SB Nation wanted to know why I'm a fan of the New York Football Giants. My answer is "How could I not be?"

So how about you?

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