NFL Giants' Poor Start Leads To Criticism From Media, Drop In Ticket Prices

The NFL Giants, who for "decades have fielded quietly consistent teams and have claimed four championships since the mid-1980s," have "long been the most widely admired New York sports franchise," according to a front-page piece by Bill Pennington of the N.Y. TIMES. That is "until this season," when the Giants "lost their first six games, often imploding in lopsided, humiliating defeat." The winless Giants have "become a defenseless -- no pun intended -- punching bag on sports talk radio shows nationwide and an easy target for late-night television comedians." The Giants’ 0-6 record is "the worst for the franchise" since '76. Tickets to home games "have dropped in price on the secondary market" by 40%. Meanwhile, Giants President & CEO John Mara and Chair & Exec VP Steve Tisch have "spurned interview requests ... befitting the team’s close-to-the-vest nature." Giants owners have "almost never made public comments in the midst of a season" (N.Y. TIMES, 10/19).