g a r y w o n g . o r g

Dear Tiki,

During your time with the New York Giants, we watched as you went from being the annointed successor to Giant icon Rodney Hampton in your rookie season to the perennial Pro Bowl back you were when you retired. Along the way, we suffered through some mighty growing pains that left us with the general sense of disappointment from the performance you put out your first two years. Finally, in 2000, we saw just what you could do when healthy and putting all your sizeable skills to use as you helped to lead the Giants to a remarkable - and somewhat surprising - run to the Super Bowl.

Over your final six seasons, you would achieve a number of accomplishments that will forever stand out in our minds:

• The 203 yards you rushed for in the final game of the season against the Philadelphia Eagles to clinch a playoff spot in 2002.
• The 220 rushing yards in 2005 against the Kansas City Chiefs, setting a Giant record, with the Washington Redskins inching toward the division lead.
• Breaking your barely year-old record with 234 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns in the final game of the 2006 season against the Redskins to clinch a playoff spot.
• Although not your greatest game statistically, you ran for 206 yards against the Redskins in Week 8 of 2005, days after Wellington Mara passed away, to help lead the Giants to a 36-0 spanking.

Throughout the final years of your career, you managed to finally cure that pesky fumbling problem - good thing too because some of us were always on the verge of passing out from holding our breath whenever you held the ball. Also, you continued to put up outstanding number on some putrid teams which is no easy feat, we know. All told, you retired as one of the greatest players to put on the Giant uniform and it’s doubtful that any future Giant will eclipse you.

Now comes the hard part - Tiki, please shut the fuck up.

We get that you’re now a member of the media and, as a former player, you want to disabuse us of the notion that you’re too close to the current generation of players. You don’t want to be grouped with analysts on a level of Deion Sanders or the brothers Sharpe, choosing to be thought of more in the mold of a Cris Collinsworth. That’s great - in fact, we commend you on the ambitious path you’ve laid out for yourself. We can even understand the barbs you’ve tossed at Eli Manning as they weren’t really all too vicious and should be taken as accurate analysis - critical but not untrue.

What we do take umbrage at is the excerpts from your upcoming memoir. You wrote that “if Tom Coughlin had not remained as head coach of the Giants, I might still be in a Giants uniform,” and that he “robbed me of what had been one of the most important things I had in my life, which was the joy I felt playing football.” You’ve already gone on the record of wanting to get out while you were still healthy and before all the wear and tear of a long career in football took its toll. What good does it do you to take a massive crap on your former team - a team that stood by you as you struggled early on in your career and a team that took it on the chin all of last season when your impending retirement turned into a gigantic clusterfuck.

Perhaps it’s better that you’re taking a “burn your bridges” approach to you nascent broadcasting career - it’s certainly taking the sting of no longer having you in the backfield come Sunday night. Still, we would have like to have celebrated a day in the not too distant when the Giants bring you back on a beautiful autumn Sunday afternoon to retire your number. But, hey, if being a media bastard is what you want then have at it.

You jackass.

Sincerely,

Some Very Sad Giants Fans