Swamp Thing
NOV. 28 >> PHILADELPHIA EAGLES AT N.Y. GIANTS >> 1 P.M. EST
[1] FRANKLIN LAKES Phil Simms's son Chris, now a Bucs QB, starred here at Ramapo High. "I married a New Jersey girl," the elder Simms once said, "and I venture to say I'm going to live here the rest of my life." [2] CELEBRITIES Barbershop run by Ollie Stancil, haircutter of choice for Giants since the '80s. Michael Strahan, Will Allen and Barrett Green go for the $15 Dark Caesar. [3] HOBOKEN Birthplace of Ol' Blue Eyes. [4] GOLD'S GYM Giants cornerbacks Allen and Will Peterson lift here, as does former Giants lineman Ron Stone (now with Raiders), who once took an advanced yoga class. Recalls gym manager Michael Picarelli, "A 300-pound dude pulling off a perfect yoga handstand, with a huge gold chain hangin' down.... That's a riot." [5] YANKEE STADIUM Giants home from 1956 to '73; during '58 NFL title game team VP Wellington Mara, the 42-year-old son of owner Tim Mara, took Polaroids from the press box and tossed them down to the bench in a weighted sock. Now every team uses aerial photography in games. [6] POLO GROUNDS Home of baseball's Giants from 1911 to '57, when the club went west. A housing project now occupies the site. [7] TRUMP TOWER Midtown skyscraper where, after the '83 season, New Jersey Generals owner Donald Trump signed Lawrence Taylor to a "futures contract" that would kick in when his Giants deal ended. Then Trump sold rights to the linebacker back to the Giants for a $750,000 profit. "I never thought Taylor should be in the USFL," Trump later said. "I had too much respect for him as a player." [8] SAYREVILLE Hometown of Jon Bon Jovi (né John Bongiovi), whose '88 album New Jersey sold more than five million copies. The rocker is close with former Giants assistant and current Pats coach Bill Belichick. On his 2002 album Bounce, Bon Jovi wrote to Belichick, "The song 'Bounce' is dedicated to you, my friend." [9] MADISON SQUARE GARDEN Self-proclaimed World's Most Famous Arena and longtime host of NFL draft. Last April top pick Eli Manning precipitated a trade from Chargers to Giants. [10] MAJESCO INC. Where Giants LB Wesly Mallard worked in '03 off-season. His job: testing (read: playing) Game Boy Advance titles like Cartoon Network Speedway and Frogger Advance. [11] ENGLEWOOD HOSPITAL On Aug. 22, 1941, Duane Charles Parcells, who would be called Bill because he was often mistaken for a local boy of that name, was born here. The coach grew up in Oradell, N.J., where he played football with Vince Lombardi Jr. [12] POPEYE'S CHICKEN & BISCUITS Giants equipment managers order from here for players, getting food tagged by jersey. (Number 75 Keith Hamilton's was "eight-piece all-white chicken with large beans and rice.") [13] NORTH CALDWELL Former stomping grounds of Sopranos creator David Chase and locale of the TV family's 6,000-square-foot villa. Tony Soprano (that is, actor James Gandolfini) goes to football games at Rutgers--his alma mater. --Adam Duerson
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GIANTS STADIUM
• SEATING CAPACITY: 80,242 (NFL's 2nd largest, after Redskins' FedExField)
• ATTENDANCE RECORD: 82,948 for Pope John Paul II's mass, Oct. 5, 1995
• GIANTS' RECORD HERE: 129--100 (.563)
• JETS' RECORD HERE: 86-86-1 (.500)
• MILES TO TIMES SQUARE: 6.9
• GLATT KOSHER FOOD STANDS: 3
• RESIDENT GHOSTS: One. Ex--Teamsters union chief Jimmy Hoffa
Visitors' View
Eagles talk about their trip to East Rutherford
"The first time I saw the Meadowlands, it just had a real dark, gloomy feel. My rookie year [1996] we're driving over there and we're passing by factories, refineries, warehouses, and I'm thinking, What's going on here?" --Brian Dawkins, safety
"The first time I was up there was my rookie year ['97]. Driving up the New Jersey Turnpike, looking out the window and realizing how close we were to New York City, it was just so exciting." --Chad Lewis, tight end
COLOR MAP
MAP BY STEVE STANKIEWICZ
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ABBOT GENSER/HBO (GANDOLFINI)
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DAMIAN STROHMEYER (SIMMS)
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BONUS BOOKS (PARCELLS)
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DREW HALLOWELL/ICON SMI (DAWKINS)
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JACQUES M. CHENET/CORBIS (SPRINGSTEEN)
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CHRIS TROTMAN/GETTY IMAGES (COUGHLIN)
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NEIL LEIFER (MAYS)
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BILL KOSROUN/AP (MANNING)
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ETHAN MILLER/REUTERS (BON JOVI)
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AL BELLO/GETTY IMAGES (STADIUM)
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AP (SINATRA)
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KONAMI (FROGGER'S ADVENTURES)
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COURTESY OF THE BARBER FAMILY (BARBERS)
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BETTMANN/CORBIS (ANDRE THE GIANT)
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JEFF ZELEVANSKY/ICON SMI (MARA)
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COURTESY OF COLLECTIVEANDSAVE.COM (HELMET)