From Newsday today, the Jets rank 2nd: Giants' win ranks among NY's best Jim Baumbach Now whenever you mention those special teams such as the 1969 Jets, 1969 Mets, 1986 Mets and the 1994 Rangers, you have to include this Giants team. They made history, and will forever be remembered and cherished for it. Here's the debate. There is no question the Giants' stunning 17-14 upset over the previously undefeated Patriots will go down as one of the top 10 sports championships in New York sports history. Jim Baumbach Bio | E-mail | Recent columns Related links Giants beat Patriots to win Super Bowl XLII Photos Giants 17, Pats 14 ? Giants homecoming ? Game photos ? Giants celebrate ? Road to Super Bowl Name "The Play" Give the spectacular Eli Manning-to-David Tyree pass a name. ? Watch it (YouTube) Complete Giants Super Bowl coverage ? Giants are living the dream ? David Tyree's fame is catching ? Glauber: Worth wait for Accorsi ? Eli enjoys ultimate moment ? Plaxico hurt knee in the shower ? Powell: Let's make the Giants feel at home ? Matthews: Belichick's proved he lacks class ? Best: Like Giants, Fox proud of super effort ? Patriots' defense showed its age ? Baumbach: Win ranks among NY's best ? Photos, video, Flash & more Poll: Greatest Super Bowl upset? Is this the greatest Super Bowl upset of all time? Yes, the Giants beat an undefeated team! No, the Jets' win in Super Bowl III was better No, the Pats' win in 2002 was better No, it wasn't an upset. It was destiny! View current results 2007-08 Giants trivia quiz Quiz Giants blog Giants talk back Buy Giants frontpage reprints But where exactly does it rank? Is it top five? This was the question a handful of Newsday reporters debated Sunday night long after the game was over, and the conclusion we came to is this: there's no easy answer. Yes, the Giants belong in the top 10. Everyone agrees on that. But what are the top five sports championships in New York sports history? The definites are the 1969 Jets, for scoring a most improbable upset over the heavily-favored Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III in a landmark game; the 1969 Mets, for an improbable late-season run that turned them from being the lovable losers to the Amazin' Mets; the 1994 Rangers, for snapping their 54-year championship drought in dramatic fashion; and the 1986 Mets, for perhaps the most stunning comeback in World Series history. Which Yankees team deserves a spot in the top five more? The 1977 'Bronx is Burning' Yankees team, which was highlighted by Reggie Jackson's three home runs in Game 6? Or the 1996 Yankees, which ended the franchise's 18-year championship drought by erasing a 2-0 deficit on the road and captured the city's heart thanks to the story of Joe Torre, a Brooklyn native, whose older brother Frank received a new heart just as the Yankees won the title. Let's not forget the 1978 Yankees highlighted by Bucky Dent's memorable home run over the Green Monster in a one-game playoff at Fenway. And how about the 1970 Knicks, a team that has forever been remembered for the dramatic Game 7 when Willis Reed limped back onto the court despite a thigh injury? His appearance inspired the Knicks and their fans to a 113-99 win over the Lakers for their first NBA title. But top five? Are the 1977 Yankees, 1996 Yankees and 1970 Knicks bigger than this Giants' victory, which no one could have predicted six weeks ago? That the Giants even made the Super Bowl was viewed an accomplishment, something most Giants fans probably would have been happy regardless of the outcome. That's because they were going up against the Patriots, hands-down the best team in football after winning an unprecendented 18 straight games. But the Giants forced the Patriots into playing their game, made their uber quarterabck Tom Brady look human for a change, and Eli Manning led the Giants down the field for the game-winning score, easily the biggest drive in the history of the franchise. Co-owner John Mara, after the game, even called it the biggest win in franchise history. The 1986 Giants and 1990 Giants both were special, too, and deserve consideration for the top 10. But this is bigger. And of course let's not forget the Islanders' dynasty of the early 1980s, as well. They have several teams that would be definite top 10 material, especially the 1983 team that won the Stanley Cup for the fourth straight year. After a night of thought, here's our top five. 1. 1969 Mets 2. 1969 Jets 3. 1986 Mets 4. 1994 Rangers 5. 2007 Giants Honorable mention: 1977 Yankees, 1996 Yankees, 1983 Islanders, 1970 Knicks, 1990 Giants. Let's hear yours.
I feel the 86 Mets had more drama and a better team than the 1969 Mets. Somehow, I think the Rangers should be higher on that list as well.
It should really be titled "Top 5 NY Championships In the Last 30 Years". To ignore Yankee championships from Ruth's or Mantle's era or the Brooklyn Dodgers (1956?) makes the list incomplete. I am sure some old timers would refer to the Giants championships in the 50's as well.
Yeah, I don't know what is so great about the 1986 Mets. I mean it's always great when you win, but they were a good team and they were expected to win, just like the 1986 Giants.
So, if you are expected to win championships before the season starts, it shouldn't count? That makes no sense.
Not what I'm saying. You want to list the five greatest of all time, you're looking for something different or unique about it. It's all subjective anyway, depends on what criteria you are using. Going by the context of this list, the 1969 Jets and Mets and these Giants were huge upsets, the Rangers ended a 54 year drought. The 1986 Mets were neither a huge upset, the end of a really long drought (17 years is not that long), or anything you won't see any other year. Game 6 was an all-time classic, but again you see great games in the WS every so often. The overall season and title, if you're not a Met fan, wasn't special to anyone else. Yes it was a NY team that won, but so were the Yankees four times in six years, are we going to list them too? Of course they all count, but what makes it the "greatest"? You tell me why they belong on such a short list then.
Ummmm... I guess the '55 Brooklyn Dodgers don't count? New York is a baseball town, and the sheer number of teams we have really makes a top five list really difficult. Still, I'd have thrown the Dodgers on there. -X-
1.) 1955 Dodgers 2.) 1968 Jets 3.) 1994 Rangers 4.) 1969 Mets 5.) 2007 Giants I really wanted to throw the '96 Yanks in there, but there just isn't any room.
As for the Giants, it was a big win but some people are making way to big a deal just because the Pats were undefeated, and for all we know they cheated to help get them to 18-0, we have to see how that plays out after the investigation. The Giants just played the Pats a few weeks ago and only lost by 3 points, so why is it such a shock that this time they beat them by 3 points? The AFL Jets had never been on the same field as the NFL Colts until Superbowl 3, half the Colts never seen Namath throw a football till the warmups of that game, congrats G-men on a great win but it's not even close to the 68 Jets. I would rank it in the top 10 in NY wins though.
lol, i feel stupid now, i was thinking of 2000 when we beat the mets, for some reason I thought it happend after the 9-11 attacks in 2001
The 86 Mets were favorites, but game 6 was the most incredible baseball moments ever, and the Mets even trailed game 7 3-0 before rallying back. They even trailed game 6 of the astros series (maybe the best game ever played, though the ventura grand slam single may top it) came back, blew a lead, and fought off a pesky astro team to advance to the world series. The Mets had some legendary win in 86, though the team was a favorite they did everything the hard way.
agreed, I'm not gonna rank them but I think the list in th e first post sort of captures the top 5 in NY, The 69 amazin Mets, the 86 Mets because of the sheer drama and craziness of the playoffs and WS, the 94 Rangers because of the guarantee and the curse, the 69 Jets and the 07 Giants because of the underdog stature
As should be the case with questions like this, there are lots of ways of interpreting it. As you say, the 1955 Dodgers win is so far ahead of any other team in terms of the impact it had on fans and nonfans it's not even close. The importance of the Dodgers to Brooklyn is obviously easy to forget now, but was far larger than the importance of any sports team to any city now (including the Red Sox and Boston, which is probably the only thing that came close). I think that you've rated the 1994 Rangers way too high on the overall impact factor simply because the vast majority of people couldn't care less about hockey, but in terms of its effect on the fans themselves it was obviously right up there. As is usually the case, people overestimate tremendously what has just happened. In terms of upsets, this game wasn't even as big an upset as the Patriots win over the Rams in SB XXXVI; the Giants were playing much better than the Patriots were for weeks, in fact, and the Giants hardly had the perpetual loser image that teams like the pre-1969 Mets did. Beating a team you're not supposed to beat doesn't automatically make something the greatest game or series ever - just ask the 2006 St. Louis Cardinals.
Nice. How about the Knicks in 1973 with Willis Reed's famous cameo and Clyde's 37 points? In 7 games over Wilt and the Lakers.
1 68 Jets literally made the Super Bowl what it is today 2 69 mets noone saw it coming 3 07 Giants snuffed perfection 4 86 Mets the most thrilling of all 5 94 Rangers a loooong time coming next to enter the list is when the Jets win again
