Michael Strahan was never revered by Giants fans the way Lawrence Taylor was. It really wasn’t until the end of his 15th season, when he helped Eli Manning deliver a Super Bowl championship to New York, that Strahan truly sacked them.
He was never the freakish force of nature LT was, and no one ever knew him as MS. He didn’t revolutionize the defensive-end position the way LT revolutionized the outside-linebacker position. He didn’t live on the edge like LT did, didn’t sleep in his car in the Giants Stadium parking lot and terrorize quarterbacks while hungover on no sleep.
Strahan’s highs were never as high as LT’s, his lows were never as low. He didn’t show up his first day destined for Canton. He didn’t have LT’s God-given gifts (no one did). His gap-toothed smile wasn’t adored every step of the way. He made himself into a good player, then a very good player, then a great player.
You become a beloved figure in this town when you win a championship. Strahan may have appeared on a Sports Illustrated cover with the Ravens’ Tony Siragusa, but he didn’t close the deal. There was no Canyon of Heroes parade for him or the Jim Fassel Giants.
There were LT fans who hated that Strahan broke his franchise sack record — and even when he broke Mark Gastineau’s single-season sack mark, it was tainted in controversy because his pal Brett Favre swooned at his feet.
He was hardly the charming teddy bear he is these days alongside Kelly Ripa, but if Giants fans could overlook LT’s often-boorish behavior, they could certainly overlook Strahan’s moodiness. For years, even before he clashed with Tom Coughlin, he was the leader of Big Blue, the best Giant of them all, and he chased Donovan McNabb from here to Philadelphia, and stuffed the run as well.
But LT had two rings by his 10th season, and Strahan didn’t have any as he held out and pondered whether he wanted to return for his 15th.
The rest is history.
It was Strahan’s defense that savaged Tom Brady. It was Strahan, on the sidelines when Eli Manning, trailing 14-10, began the last-minute drive that shocked the Patriots and the football world, who paced up and down and bellowed: “17-14 is the final, OK? 17-14, fellas. One touchdown, and we are world champions. Believe it, and it will happen!”
David Tyree happened, then Plaxico Burress happened, and 17-14 happened, and the Lombardi Trophy happened.
And that was Michael Strahan, on the stage at City Hall following the Canyon of Heroes parade, who got everybody crazy with his “We Stomped You Out” act. Stomped the Patriots out.
And it was Strahan who wrote the foreword for Coughlin’s second book, and it is Strahan who is summoned by Coughlin from time to time to give pep talks to his Giants, or watch film with the younger defensive linemen and mentor them. It is Strahan who is supportive of his old coach and old team on Fox NFL Sundays.
It is Strahan who Saturday night joins LT and the rest of the Giants legends in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton.