Do you ever wonder which NFL teams players and coaches hold their allegiances to? Fans don’t like to think about such things, as it could change their opinion of some of their heroes.
Sometimes, the planets align, and players and coaches get the opportunity to work for the team they grew up rooting for. Such is the case of Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells, who coached the New York Giants from 1983-1990 and led them to their first two Super Bowl championships.
Parcells was born and raised in Bergen County, New Jersey, just minutes from where he would lead the Giants to glory decades later. He has bled Big Blue his whole life.
From Ian O’Connor of The Athletic:
He was a diehard Giants fan in suburban New Jersey long before he was a two-time champion for the only team he ever really wanted to coach. He attended his first game as a 10-year-old in 1951, Giants versus Steelers in the Polo Grounds.
“I was a Giant fan then and I’m a Giant fan now, and that’s all I can tell you,” Parcells said the other day by phone. “It’s hard to put the emotion into words as far as what the Giants mean to me, and that’s the truth. When they win, I’m happy, and when they lose, I’m not happy, and that’s been going on for 75 years.”
Parcells, now 84, is third all-time on the Giants’ list of winningest coaches behind Steve Owen and Tom Coughlin with a record of 77-49-1 (.610) and a postseason record of 8-3.
