Giants owner John Mara gets another
aerial message trashing his team before loss to Ravens
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[December 16, 2024]
By TOM CANAVAN
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — New York Giants co-owner John Mara
received another aerial message trashing his woeful team before
Sunday's 35-14 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
A small plane circled MetLife Stadium roughly two hours before
kickoff, trailing a banner that read: “Mr Mara Enough — We won't
stop until you fire everyone.”
The most obvious people on the chopping block after two straight
losing seasons are coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe
Schoen.
It was the second straight week that a plane was hired to circle the
stadium in protest of the Giants’ seventh losing season since 2017.
Sunday's loss was the ninth straight for New York (2-12), a
franchise record-tying skid. The Giants fell to 0-8 at MetLife
Stadium.
“Just control what we can control,” Daboll said of the skid, which
has upset countless fans and annoyed at least one of them to the
point where they are sending planes with messages directed at Mara.
Daboll insisted he did not see either plane.
The message last week before a 14-11 loss to New Orleans asked Mara
to overhaul a team that has made the playoffs twice since winning
the Super Bowl in February 2012.
“Mr. Mara, enough. Please fix this dumpster fire!” read the message
towed by that plane.
Mara declined to comment last week and was not immediately available
for comment on the second incident.
The planes have started circling the stadium around 11 a.m. on game
day, and many players are not on the field for warm-ups at that
time.
Linebacker Brian Burns said Sunday he didn't see the plane and had
no comment on its presence or the message it conveyed.
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A plan pulls a banner, directed at New York Giants owner John Mara,
over Met Life Stadium before an NFL football game between the New
York Giants and the Baltimore Ravens, Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024, in East
Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Veteran receiver Darius Slayton reiterated what he
said last week, noting people can spend their money however they see
fit. He added that the Giants have a talented roster that needs a
few tweaks.
“We just we just have to do a couple of things a little bit better
to get it back on the right direction,” Slayton said.
The Giants made the playoffs in 2022 with a 9-7-1 record in the
first season under Schoen and Daboll.
The Giants were 16-point underdogs against the Ravens, according to
BetMGM Sportsbook, an unusually high number for a home team in the
NFL. Baltimore covered.
No one has come forward to claim responsibility for hiring the
planes and writing the aerial messages.
In the late 1970s, a plane hired by fans flew over Giants Stadium
with a trailing banner that read “15 Years of Lousy Football. ...
We’ve Had Enough.” Between 1973-79, the Giants won no more than six
games in a season, with the six wins coming in ’78 and ’79 when the
NFL expanded from a 14-game to a 16-game regular season.
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