Last update - 02:01 28/12/2007
Football / NFL / Between the Patriots and the Giants, the choice is simple
By Steve Leibowitz
My first childhood memory is from 1958. I was seven years old, sitting with my father at our kitchen table in Laurelton, New York, listening to the NFL championship between the New York Giants and the Baltimore Colts on the radio. The Giants lost in overtime, and it was painful. From that moment, I became a lifelong Giants fan.
Even after immigrating to Israel in 1974, I remained a loyal Giants fan. There was no cable television then, and for many years I would have friends send over videotapes so that I could see the Giants' games.
Thanks to the generosity of close friend and Big Blue Travel owner Barry Liben, I was flown to New York about once a year, for a 25-year period, to see at least one Giants game every season. Some of the games were on the road, and Big Blue arranged plane and game tickets for hundreds of U.S.-based Giants fans, who painted their faces blue and supported the team even when it was not playing at home. It's safe to say that I was the only Israeli immigrant to enjoy such a perk. My bond to the Giants remained intact, even though I live in Jerusalem.
In recent years, the New England Patriots have also come into my life. Thanks to the unending generosity of Patriots owner Robert Kraft and his wife Myra, American football has become one of the fastest growing sports in this country. Kraft Family Stadium in Jerusalem is home to over 1,000 flag football players in four leagues. Due to the Krafts, youth programs are now operating all over the country, and even a new fully-equipped tackle league has gotten off the ground.
Kraft Family Stadium was constructed in 1999. The Krafts made another donation in 2005 to rededicate the facility with state-of-the-art Fieldturf, an artificial grass. Robert Kraft spoke at the rededication in Hebrew, and told the audience: "Before building the field in Jerusalem, the Patriots had never won a Super Bowl. Since building the field, we have three championships." Looking toward the heavens, he added, "This could not have been by chance." Later in the speech, Kraft spoke of his father, and how proud he would be of the football accomplishments, but said he would be most proud of the fact that the Kraft family owns Carmel Containers in Caesarea, employing some 600 Israeli workers.
This past Israeli Independence Day, the Krafts and the Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston brought the Israeli national men's and women's flag football teams to the Patriots' home at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts. Before winning our respective games against U.S. teams, our players toured the facility, visiting the players' locker rooms and the Patriots' trophy room, which houses three Lombardi trophies for each one of New England's Super Bowl championships. The players were somewhat overwhelmed. The Foxboro experience gave us a memorable attachment to the Patriots.
So herein lies the dilemma. What of previous loyalties? Tomorrow night, in the final game of the 2007 regular season, the New York Giants face the unbeaten New England Patriots. The Patriots are 15-0 and are on the brink of becoming the first team to ever have a perfect regular season of 16-0. Naturally, I want Kraft's team to set the record.
Luckily, the Giants have already clinched a playoff spot and have nothing to gain or lose in this game. But even if the Giants faced elimination, I could not root against the Patriots, because the team from New England has become Israel's team. It has earned the right to be this country's team. A few years ago, Kraft brought one of his Lombardi trophies to Israel and held it up to a large crowd, the Israeli football community that was present at Kraft Family Stadium. It was the first time the coveted trophy had ever left North America. A year later, the Krafts thrilled local enthusiasts by bringing Super Bowl MVP quarterback Tom Brady to the country.
The Kraft family is deeply invested in Israel, and in developing football here. Thanks to their friendship and commitment, there are thousands of Patriot fans in Israel. The Patriots have earned the right to be regarded as Israel's team in the NFL.
Steve Leibowitz is President of the American Football in Israel nonprofit organization and director of Kraft Family Stadium. He is also editor of IBA News.