Rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart gave New York Giants fans a reason to be proud again on Thursday night after powering them to a statement victory over the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.
In just his third start after replacing veteran signal-caller Russell Wilson, Dart enjoyed a breakout performance to breathe new life into the Giants franchise. After 14 years of mediocrity, hope may have finally returned to MetLife Stadium.
And if he one day goes on to end their lengthy wait for another Super Bowl, the 22-year-old will have achieved something few sports stars can boast: making it in New York.
The concrete jungle is where dreams are made of. Unless, it appears, you’re an athlete. Then it can be a nightmare, the history books tell us. Just ask Wilson, who was brutally jeered after replacing Dart and misplacing a pass in shambolic fashion before heading back to the bench crestfallen. The loudest cheer of the night came when his successor returned to the field.
New York’s fans and media have the quickest, itchiest trigger fingers and they aren’t afraid to aim them at their own, meaning a number of highly-talented players have been chewed up and spat out by the Big Apple in recent years. It is why the city has gone without a ‘Big Four’ championship triumph (MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL) since the Giants’ 2012 Super Bowl win.
‘At times there’s some negativity surrounding us here,’ Dart admitted after beating the Eagles. ‘For us, some of the new guys that are coming here, we’ve just got here, so we don’t feel like we’re involved in the past.’
Jaxson Dart gave New York Giants fans a reason to be proud again in their win over the Eagles
Dart proved it is possible to succeed in New York despite recent history suggesting otherwise
While the concrete skyline is a mere speck in the distance overlooking Bethpage Black, for one weekend last month New York’s brutality had arrived in its suburbs. There, the Ryder Cup became its latest victim.
In the ugliest scenes that golf has witnessed, the sport’s serene stereotype was swiftly dismantled by the New Yorkers’ thuggery.
Rory McIlroy said he would have been ‘annoyed’ if he were an American. ‘I didn’t hear a lot of shouts for Scottie [Scheffler] today, but I heard a lot of shouts against me. Support your players,’ he said following his singles match against the world No 1.
But he shouldn’t have been surprised. New Yorkers possess passion in abundance but there is rarely a trace of positivity in their brash demeanor, largely due to the aforementioned trigger fingers.
One week before the rabid nature of the native tore through the serenity of the People’s Country Club, 50 miles west the epidemic had already swept through MetLife Stadium.
In March, Wilson arrived in New York as a former Super Bowl winner and a nailed-on future Hall of Famer. Yet just three weeks into his tenure as the team’s new quarterback, he had been reduced to the backup to a rookie.
He made his home debut as a Giant against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 3 of the NFL season. When he was shown on the big screen during warmups, welcoming cheers echoed around the 80,000-seat stadium. One quarter later, those cheers had transformed into jeers of, ‘We want Dart!’ Two days later, the wishes of the discontented were granted.
Rory McIlroy and his wife Erica were the latest victims of the the fiery Big Apple sports culture
During last month’s Ryder Cup, the Big Apple’s brutality had arrived in its suburbs
Police dogs and state troopers had to be called in after McIlroy was subject to vile abuse
McIlroy’s partner was even hit by a drink during a volatile final day of the tournament
The 36-year-old lasted just three games before the surly impatience of the city’s censorious citizens kicked in. Wilson was benched in favor of rookie Dart, who started the following game against the heavily-favored Los Angeles Chargers – and won.
Dart found out last Sunday, when he and the Giants lost to the New Orleans Saints, how difficult performing under the New York pressure can be. Though after his strong showing against a formidable Eagles outfit – which saw him complete 17 of his 25 passes for 195 yards and a touchdown, as well as 13 carries for 58 yards and a rushing touchdown – the youngster has proven himself capable of handling it.
‘Being in New York is really, really tough,’ Giants legend Michael Strahan told the Daily Mail before Thursday’s win.
‘I’m excited to see Dart play, I just hope that he can go out there and play well,’ the ex-Good Morning America anchor added. ‘If he doesn’t, or if it’s rough – because it’s the hardest position on the football field – (I hope) he doesn’t lose his confidence.
‘Because being in New York is really, really tough. You get beat up by the media and a lot of guys don’t recover.
‘That’s why New York is tough for most guys to come here and play.’
Unlike most, the Fairytale of New York isn’t guaranteed a happily ever after, especially not for a young quarterback. Just ask Zach Wilson – and Geno Smith, and Sam Darnold, and Mark Sanchez.
Even Aaron Rodgers, the four-time MVP who had been hailed as the New York Jets’ long-awaited savior, had his quest for success end in a whimper.
Russell Wilson and his superstar wife Ciara arrived in New York in May to great expectation
Three weeks into the season, the former Super Bowl winner has been reduced to a backup
New Yorkers have the quickest trigger fingers and they aren’t afraid to aim them at their own
All of them found homes elsewhere around the league, far away from the harsh, bright lights of New York City.
Ever since the Yankees beat the Mets to win the World Series in 2000, New York’s near dozen sports teams have offered slim pickings for its fans.
Of course, there have been a few scraps tossed to the starving New Yorkers. The Giants won two Super Bowls in 2008 and 2012 – over Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, no less – while the Yankees last won the World Series in 2009.
Outside of the American ‘Big Four,’ the New York Liberty won the city’s first championship in three years last season. But even that has been followed by a crashout in the first round of this season’s WNBA playoffs, costing championship-winning coach Sandy Bordello her job.
For a quarter century, this has largely been a barren, bannerless town. And therein lies the issue. The fans are hungry for any morsel of success.
They have been so starved for something to celebrate that they poured out of Madison Square Garden onto the streets, scaled lamp posts and snarled city traffic in May, all because the Knicks simply made it out of the second round of the NBA playoffs.
Former New York Jets rookie quarterback Zach Wilson (No. 2) struggled under the pressure
Fans climbed signs and light poles to celebrate the Knicks’ first conference final in 25 years
Knicks fans furiously react to a play in the Eastern Conference Finals against Indiana Pacers
Yes, New Yorkers are loud and liquored up, but they’re also loyal. They live and die by their teams, and they demand the same in return.
‘The tough part about playing in New York is there’s been a losing culture there, and they need to change that culture,’ Solomon Thomas, a former Jets defensive tackle and now member of the Dallas Cowboys, told the Daily Mail. ‘I know they will someday. I pray they will because I still have love for those guys.
‘I told the [Cowboys’] D-line before we went out there, ‘We put it on them, the crowd will start booing, and their whole demeanor will change,” he added speaking of Dallas’s win over the Jets on Sunday. ‘That’s exactly what happened.
‘When the crowd starts booing, that kills the team’s vibe. I know the fans are frustrated, but that’s their home team, and they’re doing that at their home stadium. That’s embarrassing.
‘My first game there, we got booed when the game was tied. We went on to lose after that. That’s the hard part about playing New York. The fans expect the team to fold, and when they fold, even in the early part of the game, the fans start booing. That kills the vibe.’
The weight of the city’s expectations is as big as its skyscrapers. And this week, that burden lay on the shoulders of the New York Yankees. They also crumbled.
The Bronx Bombers bombed out of the MLB playoffs at the hands of the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday night. And once again the Pinstripes turned on their own.
Immediately after the final out, fans flooded social media with calls for manager Aaron Boone to be fired. It has become somewhat of an annual postseason tradition for the Yankees as their World Series drought extends to 16 years.
Solomon Thomas, a former Jets defensive tackle, opened up on the tough losing culture
New York sports fans have been starved of any morsel of success in recent years
In the stands of Yankee Stadium, the vexation was just as palpable. With Anthony Volpe at bat and the Yankees trailing 4-1 in the seventh, one man hit breaking point.
He rose to his feet and manically mimed bat swings as he pleaded with the shortstop to spark some life into the offense. ‘Swing the f***ing bat,’ he appeared to shout.
Even wealth and status wasn’t enough to protect the Yankees’ celebrity row from the misery. Director and renowned New York sports fan Spike Lee was slumped in his seat in the lower bowl with a look of pure disdain on his face as his team imploded on the field.
Actor Timothee Chalamet and his A-List girlfriend Kylie Jenner looked as equally depressed from their front row seats.
The baseball bombardment of the Big Apple fanbase isn’t reserved to the Bronx either. New York Mets star Francisco Lindor can attest to that.
Lindor arrived in Queens to the big expectations that flow from signing a $341million contract extension in 2021. By his tenth game, the Citi Field crowd was already on his case.
‘Getting booed sucks, man,’ Lindor told reporters at the time. ‘It’s not fun. It’s a lonely feeling, especially when it’s your home crowd.
‘I think they’re booing because of the results. I don’t think it’s that they don’t like me. I think it’s because of the results, because when I come to the dugout and I have a baseball in my hand, they all go crazy but it’s the same person who’s booing me. I’m starting to understand this.’
Timothee Chalamet and girlfriend Kylie Jenner looked as depressed from their front row seats
The wife of New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor shared threatening messages from fans
Lindor’s wife, Katia Reguero Lindor, shared two disturbing private messages she had received
Erica (right, with Shane Lowry’s wife, Wendy) was subjected to horrific abuse while watching
The backlash escalated beyond boos or on-field taunting during the 2024 season. As her husband struggled through the first eight games of last year, Lindor’s wife, Katia, shared the vile, threatening messages she had received from fans.
In one message an account called her husband a ‘f***ing piece of s**t’ and said they hoped that ‘him and your child die screaming.’ Another blamed her for ‘not holding your husband accountable’ as they called her a ‘selfish c**t’.
Last month, Erica McIlroy was the wife on the receiving end of a relentless slew of vitriolic abuse from the New York natives.
McIlroy’s wife was reportedly reduced to tears following a day of viscous heckling, which saw the golfer called a ‘f*****,’ Erica hit by a drink and branded a ‘w****,’ and their marriage the subject of countless taunts.
McIlroy’s teammate, Shane Lowry, said the amount and level of abuse they received was ‘astonishing.’
Astonishing, yes. But for New York, nothing new.
If you can make it there, you’ll make it anywhere. That’s according to Frank Sinatra, anyway. But in the New York bearpit, many athletes may not even want to try.
