The New York Giants gave everyone in the Tri-state area a lift on Sunday by just playing football.
Even though the team lost 24-20 to the Pittsburgh Steelers, the fact that the game went on gave the people of the area something to cheer about and something to enjoy for a few hours as they were dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.
On Tuesday, the Giants decided to give another lift to the area by donating $500,000 in storm relief to help assist victims of Hurricane Sandy.
"The New York metropolitan area sustained extensive and devastating damage to its infrastructure in Hurricane Sandy," Giants owners John Mara and Steve Tisch said in a statement released by the team, according to NFL.com. "The Giants want to do everything we can to assist our neighbors, fans and friends. Toward that end, after careful consideration, we have decided to make donations to these two very worthy funds. We are in this for the long haul and will continue to assist relief efforts in our hard-hit region."
According to the statement, the team will divide the donation between the Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund and the Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City.
The team has strong ties to both New Jersey and New York City. Residents in both areas were hit hard by the superstorm, including in neighborhoods like Breezy Point and Rockaway, as well as along the Jersey Shore.
"The Giants also raised food and money for victims through an annual food drive at MetLife Stadium before Sunday's 24-20 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. It was their most successful drive ever, with fans donating 38,405 pounds of food and $18,723."
The Giants were playing with heavy emotion on Sunday and the Steelers were affected by the storm too. Since the team could not find a hotel room in the area, the Steelers flew into New Jersey on the day of the game.
Through the game it looked as if the Giants were going to hold onto a 20-10 lead, but the Steelers were able to come back behind quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who threw two touchdowns.
"There are so many bigger things going on around here that what we do is not as important as real life," said Roethlisberger to the Wall Street Journal. "My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone else who are going through so much. There were so many emotions going on, I didn't know what to expect from it. But maybe we were able to take their minds off their problems just a little."
Eli Manning had a rough game, passing for only 125 yards. The team was never able to get into a rhythm and lost for the first time in four weeks.
"We had a lot riding on the game," Giants defensive captain Justin Tuck said to the Wall Street Journal. "Everybody knows what has taken place this past week in this area. A lot of us have been affected ourselves. We wanted to come out and give this region a reason to put some smiles on people's faces. That's frustrating in itself and knowing you had the opportunity to beat a great football team at home, and let that slip through your hands.
Some people in New York City were without power for over a week, while others still have yet to see their power go back on. The hurricane brought flooding, serious tree damage, power outages and
"We've been a team known for finishing and when we take the lead into the fourth quarter and we don't sustain that, that's frustrating," Tuck added. "That's not us. We have to look at this thing tomorrow and come back next week and try to get to 7-3."
With the loss, coach Tom Coughlin's record in the ninth game of the season dropped to 1-10 in his career. The Giants have been known for these late season swoons in recent years,
"Not to be overly reactionary or emotional, to play against a very good football team like that ... we wanted emotionally to win the game so badly for obvious reasons, for our neighbors who are struggling, who needed some type of inspiration and we didn't provide it," Coughlin said.
"Giants players also volunteered to help victims in need. The Giants said Steve Weatherford, Prince Amukamara, David Douglas, Brandon Mosley, Matt Broha, Terrence Fredrick, Laron Scott distributed food in New Jersey. Justin Tuck, Kevin Boothe, Lawrence Tynes, David Baas, Domenik Hixon, Bear Pascoe and Jim Cordle worked at the New Jersey Food bank separating food items and making sandwiches for relief workers. Quarterback Eli Manning assisted the American Red Cross in its efforts on Staten Island."