What Does Losing Feel Like?

         When you play a football game on someone else’s field the odds are against you: a new climate, unfamiliar territory and a hostile crowd. If you are motivated by the love of your city, however, anything is possible. September 23rd was going to be a rough day. Just two weeks earlier two American jet liners had slammed into one of the most iconic buildings in New York City, the World Trade Center. Both the Giants and the Jets had lost their previous games and were really in a slump, but they needed to win this one for New York City.

         The Giants had always been a good team, but the Chiefs would be one tough team to beat, and the emotions running through the player’s heads wouldn’t make it any easier. Many people thought that they wouldn’t even be able to emotionally pull it together. Hank Gola for the New York Post predicted that the Giants would lose to the Chiefs 17-14. The odds were seriously stacked against them and there was no doubt that it would be an intense game.

         However, when the Giants took the field, they saw something different; the terrorist attacks had sent shock-waves throughout the country, and it showed. Kansas City residents were holding up signs saying “KC loves NY,” and they are not known to be the friendliest of crowds in the country. This was something that the Giants did not expect, and maybe it helped them, because when they took the field, they crushed the Chiefs 13-3.  The crowd erupted in applause; Chiefs fullback Tony Richardson said, “They deserved the applause [because] it was their backyard, they actually saw it, they’ve been down to the site. Some of these people were their friends, their neighbors.” The Chiefs knew very well that this victory would mean a lot to the Giants, and all of New York City. “They were playing for their city and their state,” said Chiefs defensive end Eric Hicks.

         All of the players were ecstatic, and proud that they had won one for New York. Kerry Collins of the Giants said, “It was nice to know that, on some level, we had a positive influence for the events going on.” Shaun Williams for the Giants added, “It was important for our city to have something to smile about. It was important for them to have something to feel good about again." The Giants knew that this had meant something for New York City, and so did the Kansas City Chiefs, but the Jets winning the same day made the taste of winning even better.

         Coming out of a slump is no easy job, especially when bad emotions are raging, and on top of that, they had been crushed by the Colts just two weeks earlier. It would be tough for the Jets to come out ahead of the Patriots, but somehow they won. The Jets coach Herman Edwards definitely had something to do with it. Prior to the game he told his team, “People who can deal with inconvenience, those are the guys who are successful.” Taking the field equipped with their coach’s advice, and with their pride and passion for their city, the Jets were able to extract a 10-3 victory out of the Patriots.

         Winning the game was no easy task. However, the Jets did it using key defensive elements. The Patriots had turned the ball over four times during the game; two of these times were when they were in the red zone. On the Patriots last drive, perhaps the most important play of the game, Jets’ linebacker Mo Lewis crushed quarterback Drew Bledsoe as he tried to scramble for extra yards. This forced him out of the game and gave the job to the Patriots’ backup quarterback, Tom Brady. Brady failed to score and the Jets ended up conquering the game.

         The Patriots knew that this was a sensitive game. During the game, the Patriots honored the firefighters and police officers that had died during the terrorist attack. They even had Joe Andruzzi’s father and three brothers, New York City firefighters that had participated in the rescue operations at the World Trade Center, on as honorary captains. During the game over 60,000 American Flags were given out to all of the fans, and many people donated to the Red Cross. The Patriots played this game light-heartedly, "You've got to have fun playing this game, or it doesn't mean anything. No matter how much you get paid, you've got to have fun," said Patriots cornerback Ty Law. Football was one of the many ways that Americans would learn to cope with the unspeakable tragedy of September 11th.


Contributed to by: Greg Sakas, Timothy Jacobs and Amora Meas