New York Giants Game-Day Tradition

Title: New York Giants Game-Day Tradition

General Information about Item:

Informant Data:

Kevin Lukenda is a 57 year old man who lives in Colts Neck, New Jersey. He is a father of 3 children. He is a graduate of Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. He is a physician with his own private practice in Linden, New Jersey. He and his close friends have been loyal supporters of the New York Football Giants for their entire lives.

Contextual Data:

Cultural Context: The New York Football Giants are a professional sports team in the National Football League. They play in East Rutherford, New Jersey. My father and his close friends, along with myself, have followed this team for all of our lives.
Social Context: This item of folklore was collected during an in-person interview between my father and I in our house. We are both dedicated and loyal supporters of the New York Giants, and I wanted to hear what his game-day ritual was since he was my age.

Item:

My father explains his game day tradition that he has participated in ever since he was a college student. Him and his friends have owned season tickets to the Giants for over 30 years. Every home game, they travel to the stadium together and park in the same parking spot. They tailgate with food and drinks before they walk into the stadium to watch the game. They watch the game until it is over no matter what the score is.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

Transcript:

“The ritual actually starts prior to the season when I make sure I purchase season tickets and season parking passes so I can get to the game on time. The ritual is usually held in the parking lot of the football stadium where three of my friends and I drive in the same car and go to the ritual together. The ritual includes setting up a grill to cook some food, a cooler with some beverages, tossing around a football, and everyone hoping that the Giants play well and that they can win the game. I wear something blue to represent the Giants. There are no chants during the pre-game ritual, but during the actual game we verbally express our satisfaction or dissatisfaction. This ritual has been going on for the last thirty years, since I was in my mid-twenties.”

Informant’s Comments:

The informant stressed that he has always supported the Giants, through both their good and bad seasons.

Collector’s Comments:

I was extremely interested in my father’s game-day ritual because I am also a strong supporter of the Giants, and I wanted to know what his experience was like with the team when he was my age.

Collector’s Name: Logan Lukenda

Tags/Keywords:

Dartmouth Folklore Archive