The New York Giants, also known as Big Blue by fans, is one of two American professional football teams to play from MetLife Stadium. They compete in the NFL as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) East Division.
The Giants were one of five teams that joined the NFL in 1925 and the only one from that group that still exists today. It’s also the league’s longest-established team in the Northeastern US. The team is also a powerhouse ranking third among all NFL franchises with eight NFL championship titles including 4 before the Super Bowl era and 4 after. The team has also earned more championship appearances than any other team, with an incredible 19 overall showings. The only team to beat their championship tally are the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears.
The team has also had 29 Hall of Fame players among their rosters including NFL MVP award winners Mel Hein, Frank Gifford, Y.A. Tittle, and Lawrence Taylor.
Rivalries
The New York Giants has produced some of the greatest professional football rivalries in NFL history. These are two of the most exciting Giants rivalries.
Vs. The Philadelphia Eagles
This rivalry is one of the oldest in the NFL dating back to 1933. The two teams have frequently been in hot contention for playoff spots, NFC East Titles, and the respect that they bring. The Giants have dominated this rival during much of their history , but since the 1980s, the Eagles have been coming back hard to even the score. This is considered one of the best NFL rivalries in the 21st century and their game tickets often sell out fast.
Vs. Washington Football Team
The Giants rivalry with Washington also dates back to 1932. While this rivalry isn’t as heated as Washington’s rivalry with the Eagles or the Cowboys, there has been many periods of heated rivalry between the two teams. The competition was exceptionally fierce in the 1980s when both teams clashed for division titles and Super Bowl Championships.
MetLife Stadium
MetLife Stadium is located at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey. It lies only about 5 miles west of New York City.
The stadium opened in 2010 to replace Giants Stadium, which had been the longtime home for the New York Giants of the NFL. The stadium had an approximate cost of $1.6 billion making it the most expensive stadium in America at the time of its completion. While this record has been surpassed, it still remains one of the most impressive stadiums in professional sports today. And along with the remaining sections of the Meadowlands Sports Complex, it remains a beloved New York attraction.
Currently, it is home to the New York Giants and the New York Jets. This makes it one of only two NFL stadiums shared by two clubs. Additionally, it is the fourth building in the New York metropolitan area to be home to multiple teams from the same sports league. And it has the honor of being expected to host the Final of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Stadium History
MetLife Stadium was designed to replace Giants Stadium, which at the time was approaching 30 years old making it one of the oldest stadiums in the NFL. The Jets, who were tenants to the Giants, were also looking to have their own stadium built in Manhattan and proposed West Side Stadium. Originally, it was also intended to be an 85,000 seat stadium for New York’s bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics, but was ultimately downsized to 75,000 seats for the Jets.
But the stadium required public funding that was halted due to opposition from several sources, including Cablevision. So the Jets created a joint venture with the Giants to build a new stadium that both teams would share as equal partners.
The project broke ground on September 5, 2007 and wouldn’t see completion and opening until April 10, 2010. The final construction cost was tallied at $1.6 billion (or $1.9 billion in 2020 dollars).
Naming Rights
Early on, Allianz, a financial services and insurance company based in Munich, Germany, expressed interest in purchasing naming rights to the new stadium. The proposal was for a period of up to 30 years and was estimated at a value between $20 million and $30 million. However, New York’s Jewish community protested the the move due to the company’s past ties with the government of Nazi Germany during World War II. Ultimately though, talks ended on September 12, 2008.
Later, on June 27, 2011, New York City-based insurance company MetLife entered discussions to purchase naming rights. An agreement was reached and signed on August 23 for a 25-year deal that led to the stadium being named MetLife Stadium.
Non-NFL Attendance Records
The MetLife Stadium has an impressive capacity for 82,500 fans in its largest configuration. It came close to reaching this capacity when it hosted WrestleMania 29 on April 7, 2013 with 80,676 spectators. But then it beat this record six years later with Wrestlemania 35 on April 7, 2019, where 82, 265 attendees enjoyed the show.
But MetLife Stadium has also been a part of attendance history in other events. For instance, On November 16, 2019, when it hosted the 61st Cortaca Jug rivalry between NCAA Division III teams Red Dragons and the Ithaca Bombers. This game had an attendance of 45,161 fans, which made it the most attended Division III football game at the time.
New York Giants Achievements
The Big Blue has had several decades of incredible football action since the team was first founded. The New York Giants won 8 League Championships including 4 NFL championships before the AFL-NFL merger (1927, 1934, 1938, 1956) and 4 Super Bowl wins (1986 (XXI), 1990 (XXV), 2007 (XLII), 2011 (XLVI)).
They’ve also won an incredible 11 Conference Championships as part of the NFL Eastern conference and the NFC.
NFL Eastern: 1956, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1963
NFC: 1986, 1990, 2000, 2007, 2011
The team has also fought their way to 16 Division championships as the NFL Eastern and NFC East.
NFL Eastern: 1933, 1934, 1935, 1938, 1939, 1941, 1944, 1946
NFC East: 1986, 1989, 1990, 1997, 2000, 2005, 2008, 2011
But most impressively, the team has made 32 Playoff appearances from as far back as 1932 to their most recent appearance in 2016.