My Opinion

Frank Gifford,legendary Giants Hall of Famer and broadcaster of ABC’s Monday Night Football,died Sunday at the age of 84.I remember watching him play towards the end of his career in 1963-64.I was only ten years old and had just started to understand football.My brother Ellis loved Frank Gifford and the Giants so I became a fan too.Back then we used to watch Frank on a show called Countdown to Kickoff on CBS which came on every Saturday at 4pm and previewed the Sunday games.That’s when he got into the TV business and after he retired following the ’64 season he got into it more and more.By the time he became the play by play man for Monday Night Football in 1971,Gifford had become a TV star from doing commercials and sports reports on the local news.With Howard Cossell and Dandy Don Meredith, Gifford became a broadcasting icon as Monday Night Football took off and became an event that even players and coaches in the NFL had to watch.As a lifelong Giants fan two of my proudest moments came when Pat Summerall,who also became an icon teaming with John Madden,broadcast Super Bowl XXI between the Giants and Denver Broncos and then Frank,Al Michaels and Dan Dierdorf broadcast Super Bowl XXV between the Giants and Buffalo Bills.The Giants won both games and I’m sure Giants pride was flowing through both of them although neither one could outwardly show it.The Giants were a bad team from 1964-1979 which included “the fumble”and it had to be painful for both men.So it was great that both got to do a Super Bowl game the Giants won.They are both gone now but Frank Gifford will always be in the discussion of greatest Giants of all time.For so many years he was the face of the franchise.He was and will always be Mr.Giant.That’s my opinion.

My Opinion

Training camps have gotten underway in the National Football League and the focus has finally been put back on the field instead of the courts.The NFL has been dealing with all kinds of issues from Ray Rice to Greg Hardy to now Tom Brady.You have Adrian Peterson returning to the Minnesota Vikings after saying he didn’t want to be there and being accused of beating his son with a stick.You have Sheldon Richardson of the Jets leading police on a wild chase with a 12 year old in his car.It’s absolutely ridiculous the behavior of these athletes today.They have everything they could want,money,fame,playing a game they always dreamed about and they just seem intent on throwing it all away.The Giants Jason Pierre Paul had to have his index finger amputated because he was playing with fireworks on July 4th.Richardson was reported driving 143mph and allegedly had marijuana in his car besides his 12 year old relative.The problem is that as long as all these guys (except Rice who can’t get a workout)are still productive and can help their team they will still have a job.You can be a knucklehead off the field and some team will pay you millions if you perform great on it.The only way these guys and others like them are going to get the message is if teams start putting more value in a players character and have no tolerance for such foolish and even criminal behavior.That’s my opinion.