By Jason Klein
Originally Written For The Official Steiner Sports Blog – 1/5/10
The sign outside may have read “
Giants Stadium,” but the building finally felt like home for Jets fans on Sunday night.
The Jets, perhaps, saved their best performance for last as they did battle with the Cincinnati Bengals in the final game played in Meadowlands history. Gang Green overcame frigid temperatures, and all the odds, to defeat the Bengals 37-0 in a rout. In the process, they clinched the 5thseed in the AFC playoffs, the franchise’s first trip to the post season since 2006.
Final Game at Meadowlands
The Jets were destined to do what their co-tenants couldn’t the week prior. The Giants’ final Meadowlands performance left a sour taste – falling to the Panthers 41-9 in week 16. By contrast, the Jets refused to lose, holding the playoff-bound Bengals to just 72 total yards of offense…in the whole game!
Mark Sanchez completed an up-and-down rookie season on a high note, managing the offense and feeding Thomas Jones. Following the game, and a refreshingly frosty Gatorade bath for head coach, Rex Ryan, players did a victory lap, shaking hands with the fans and shutting out the lights at the old building in style.
It was the final great moment inside a building that provided many along the way. Jets fans will always remember moments like the Monday Night Miracle victory over the Dolphins in 2000, the 1999 Divisional Game against Jacksonville, and the back-to-back routs of the Packers and Colts to end the 2002 regular season and start the playoffs respectively. Giants fans will quickly forget the team’s 2009 shortcomings and focus more on the three Lombardi Trophies, hoisted after the 1986, 1990 and 2007 seasons.
Whatever your allegiance, there is tons of history oozing from within the Meadowlands walls. A new partnership joining Steiner Sports with the Meadowlands allows fans and football historians alike to own pieces of that nostalgia.
Interested in owning a pair of seats from within Giants Stadium? Steiner Sports new partnership makes that possible. Fans will have access to seats, seatbacks, pieces of the turf, goal posts, and various other items from within the building. It’s the perfect way to commemorate the past and look forward to a bright future inside the New Meadowlands starting in 2010.
As the Jets prepare for their Wild Card Weekend rematch with Cincinnati, and the Giants start to prepare for what will no doubt be an exciting 2010 campaign, the lights inside Giants Stadium are now dark. There will never be another game played inside the building that served as home for two teams, and enjoyed one glorious timeline of moments.
It finally felt like home for Jets fans on Sunday night. Giants fans have always felt ownership. With both teams moving across the parking lot next season, now it’s the fans who can start to make pieces of the building their own.
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