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New York Giants head coach Joe Judge went off-the-wall on Sunday afternoon, unloading a bizarre 11-minute rant that quickly went viral.
Throughout the emotional diatribe, which seemingly occurred without him taking a breath, Judge continually referenced Giants fans. He again defended their right to boo the team and then took it a step further.
Judge opened the door to becoming a lightning rod. He essentially invited fans to boo him out of MetLife Stadium in Week 17 — something that may actually result in fans keeping their tickets.
Booing Judge seems more appealing than a free medium Pepsi, doesn’t it?
“And the fans have every right to have an opinion. That’s why they’re fans. They have every right,” Judge said. “You buy a ticket, come to the stadium, you have every right to boo me going out of the stadium. That’s the way it is. That’s what we sign up for, right? And it’s New York. It’s supposed to be a tough place to be.
“If we don’t play well, every fan has the right to boo my [expletive] out of the stadium. You got that?”
There’s an old saying that goes, “be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.”
Within the emotions of the moment, it’s entirely possible Judge didn’t realize what he was saying. Inviting a rabid and angry fan base to unload on you isn’t going to result in some seismic shift where downtrodden fans suddenly see the err of their ways. Rather, they’re going to do exactly what Judge suggested — loudly, proudly and without prejudice.
If John Mara wants to test the pulse of his fan base and find out exactly where his organization currently stands, he’ll have that opportunity come Sunday. Half of the stadium will be filled with cheering Washington fans and the other half will be filled with furious, jeering Giants fans.
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