Several New York Giants legends gathered on a panel at Fanatics Fest in New York City over the weekend to discuss the history of the franchise. During the Night with Champions panel, players joked around and talked about their favorite rivals in the NFC East that they wanted to beat during their playing days.
Michael Strahan shoots Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones
When it came to the rivals in the NFC East, Giants legend and Hall of Famer Michael Strahan had the line of the night ready. He took aim at Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and raved about the joy he had gained over the hated rivals during his career:
“Oh man, I mean, there’s nothing like seeing Jerry Jones disappointed,” Strahan joked. “But I loved just driving down the Turnpike and beating the Eagles.”
Strahan was a problem for both the Cowboys and Eagles during his legendary NFL career. The two-time first-team All-Pro recorded 21.5 sacks against the Eagles and 18 sacks against the Cowboys in his career.
The Giants love to beat the Cowboys and Eagles
In addition to Strahan, other Giants legends were on the panel, such as QB Eli Manning, WR Plaxico Burress, RB Ottis Anderson and DE Justin Tuck. The most popular answers on the panel were the Eagles and the Cowboys, as the former players joked about how much fun it was to beat up these two rivals:
“There’s nothing like going to Texas and beating the Cowboys,” Burress told panel moderator Jesse Palmer. “Nothing compares to that. Nothing compares to playing in Dallas, man. Nothing compares to that.”
“I have to agree with Strahan,” Anderson told the panel, referring to Strahan’s desire to beat the Eagles. “The Eagles fans are the worst fans in America.”
Manning, however, sided with his wide receiver, saying, “I’m rooting for the Cowboys. Just because we beat them in the playoffs, we knocked them out in 2011 to get into the playoffs and beat them in the playoffs in 2007. We beat them in so many important games, those are just great memories.”
“Look, man, I hate the Eagles. I hate the Commanders. But those Cowgirls…” Tuck said as he broke the jury’s tie. “They were by far (my favorite team to beat). Just watching Jerry (Jones) come down and think his team is going to win the game and give them another playoff ticket and we politely kick their asses… yeah.”
Interestingly, no one on the panel chose the Washington Commanders as their favorite NFC East rival. While the rivalry between Washington and New York is still strong, there is nothing that compares to the hatred between the Giants, Cowboys and Eagles.
All quotes in this article were taken by Anthony Rivardo of Empire Sports Media at Fanatics Fest..
