Jim Fassel’s guarantee is guaranteed to grow into legend if his New York Giants win the Super Bowl. Fassel will join the Jets’ Joe Namath in sporting lore, even though the coach made no mention of a Super Bowl.
By the time this is finished, Fassel could join Babe Ruth pointing to the Wrigley Field bleachers. Already, he is Willis Reed limping onto the court to inspire his New York Knicks.
Fassel’s Nov. 22 prediction that his 7-4 team would rebound from two consecutive losses and make the playoffs grabbed the attention of a city so spoiled by the success of its sports teams that only guarantees can shake the atmosphere.
Truth be told, Fassel was more angry than confident that day. He didn’t like the way his team was being written off after losses at home to St. Louis and Detroit.
“I wasn’t going to let anybody tell me what we were going to do or how we were going to do it,” Fassel said.
“I didn’t want my team walking around thinking we were second-class citizens. It was `take a tough stance and don’t be afraid to let the world know what you were thinking.'”
Then he walked into the front offices of co-owners Bob Tisch and the Mara family.
“Let me tell you what I did,” Fassel said.
General Manager Ernie Accorsi said the official response was, “OK, fasten your seat belt.”In a rambling statement, Fassel instructed the media that day: “Get off my coaches’ backs. Get off the players’ backs. I’m responsible for the whole thing. . . . If you’ve got the crosshairs, if you’ve got the laser, you can put it right on my chest. . . . This team is going to the playoffs.”
The Giants haven’t lost since.
“When he lost his mind and made that guarantee, it took the pressure off of us,” defensive end Michael Strahan said. “It made it as if we are just playing a game, like it used to be and every game is fun.”
Said quarterback Kerry Collins:
“I loved it. I thought it was great. I appreciated him sticking his neck out there like that. It allowed us to play loose, don’t worry about anything but preparing. He gave us that goal, that direction. We don’t want to make him look like an idiot, I guess.”
This was Fassel’s version of the “Super Bowl Shuffle” of the 1985 Bears. Working under a one-year contract extension through 2001, Fassel knew he was gone if it backfired, although Accorsi said the Giants never imposed a playoff ultimatum.
“The key is, `Does the team respond to him?'” Accorsi said.
Accorsi remembered former Baltimore Orioles manager Earl Weaver as “a master” at deflecting the media glare toward himself.
“His teams always played hard. You couldn’t kill them off,” Accorsi said. “I asked some old players how they put up with him. They said he just attracted attention and they could go play. [Former Boston Celtics coach Red] Auerbach was the same way.”
“This is the toughest city in the world to play in,” Strahan said. “With the Yankees’ success, and the Mets, and now the Giants all within a short time frame, our fans are getting a good feel.
“The great thing about it is they get spoiled and want it every year. When you win it, it’s the best city in the world to play in.”
Strahan admitted he hasn’t always thrived on the pressure and no longer reads the papers. Fassel’s guarantee turned the tables on the naysayers. The offensive-minded coach called an audible and scored a touchdown.
Said Strahan: “You can’t listen to the opinions of a lot of people who the last time they put on a uniform was when their mother took them trick-or-treating when they were seven.”
