The New York Sports Aristocracy: 1990 New York Giants & Plenty Of Support
This is part of a series of sports history articles celebrating the best in 1990 sports. This piece asks the question of which geographic fan base had the best year in ’90.
1990 didn’t see one city stand head-and-shoulders above the rest as America’s most livable sports city. But some were better than others.
GREAT 1980s SPORTS MOMENTS
Start reading today.
For example, if you were in Cincinnati, you saw the Reds win the World Series, the Bengals win their division and reach the second of the playoffs, and if you got your NBA fix in Detroit, Chicago or Indiana, all three teams made the playoffs, the Bulls and Pistons played a seven-game Eastern Conference finals and Detroit won a second straight title. That could be one choice. But New York has a case of their own.
We have to focus on a specific segment of the New York fan base to get there. The Giants won the Super Bowl which is the main claim to fame, so it has to be someone from the New York Fan Aristocracy—one who pulls for the Yanks, Giants and Rangers, as opposed to the Underdog New York Fan who opts for the Mets, Jets and Islanders.
The Aristocracy also saw the Rangers win their division and advance to the second round of the playoffs. The whole city united around the Knicks which had a nice season and won a playoff series over the Boston Celtics, culminating with a big win on the Garden parquet.
But we have to get more specific yet. Let’s move to the part of the city which spills into the Connecticut suburbs, as UConn basketball had its first good team of the Jim Calhoun era and reached a regional final.
And let’s narrow it down even further. Notre Dame has a huge fan base in New York City, given its ethnic Catholic population. The Irish won the Sugar Bowl.
So if you’re a member of the New York Sports Aristocracy’s Connecticut branch and are Irish Catholic, it was, as Frank Sinatra might put it, “A Very Good Year.”
Read more about the 1990 New York Giants
Read more about 1990 Notre Dame football
Read more about 1990 UConn basketball
Read more about the 1990 New York Knicks
SportsNotebook Featured Products
View Our Complete Catalog
TheSportsNotebook.com is home to an extensive archive of sports history articles along with blog posts on contemporary sports.
Shop Our Digital Catalog
SportsNoteBook Articles
- Blog
- College Basketball History Articles
- College Football History Articles
- MLB History
- NBA History Articles
- NFL History Articles
- Sports History Articles
- Stanley Cup History
- Uncategorized
2005 Detroit Pistons: One Game Short Of A Repeat
In 2004, the legendary and well-traveled head coach Larry Brown, came to Detroit, inherited a 50-win team from Rick Carlisle and promptly won the city’s first NBA title since the Bad Boys in 1990. The 2005 Detroit Pistons came oh-so-close to doing it again, before coming up one game short in what proved to be […]
1994 Buffalo Bills: The End Of An AFC Dynasty
For four straight seasons, the Buffalo Bills had been the gold standard of the AFC—four straight conference championships, a feat unparalleled in the Super Bowl era. They hadn’t won that final game of the year, but they were winning most everything else. All good things come to an end though, and the 1994 Buffalo Bills […]
The Missed Opportunity Of The 1994 Miami Dolphins
The 1994 Miami Dolphins were feeling the urgency of the moment. Even with the great Dan Marino at quarterback and the legendary Don Shula on the sidelines, the Fish hadn’t been to a Super Bowl since Marino’s MVP year of 1984, and they had yet to win one with the future Hall of Fame quarterback. […]
The Seasonal Narrative Of The 1981 Baltimore Orioles
After winning the American League pennant in 1979, and then winning 100 games in 1980, the 1981 Baltimore Orioles came into the season looking to get over the hump and win their first World Series crown since 1970. The Birds had a good, contending team in ’81. But a strange, strike-marred season kept them out […]
1978 Baltimore Orioles: Another 90-Win Season For Earl
Baltimore was as consistent as they came during the managerial tenure of the great Earl Weaver from 1968 through 1982. They won at least 90 games 11 different times. They won at a 90-win pace after Weaver took the reins midway through ’68, and they did so again in the strike-torn year of 1981. The […]
The Up-And-Down Season Of The 1976 Baltimore Orioles
In 1975, the Orioles had taken a modest step back. After dominating the AL East in the first half of the decade—five division titles from 1969-74—the Birds had slipped to second place behind the Boston Red Sox in ’75. The 1976 Baltimore Orioles made some big moves to try and get back on top. But […]
1994 Cleveland Browns: Bill Belichick’s 1st Playoff Team
Bill Belichick became a staple of the NFL playoffs during his legendary 21st century tenure in New England. But his first trip to the postseason came with the 1994 Cleveland Browns. Following a 3-13 disaster in 1990, the Browns tapped Belichick, fresh off coordinating the defense of the Super Bowl champion New York Giants. At […]
1994 San Diego Chargers: A Long-Awaited Super Bowl Trip
The San Diego Chargers’ postseason history is not exactly filled with glorious moments. From the consecutive AFC Championship Game losses with Dan Fouts at quarterback in 1980-81, to the disappointments of the Marty Schottenheimer years in the ‘00s, to the flop of 2009 under Norv Turner, the Charger fans know about hopes being dashed. But the 1994 San Diego Chargers were just the opposite—it was the year San Diego finally came up clut