A Tour of The Giants Locker Room

On a Sunday morning in June, I checked out the defending champs' digs.

During the offseason, NFL stadiums become multi-million-dollar ghost towns. Kudos then to the Giants for using MetLife Stadium on a Sunday in June to host their first Run of Champions 5k (given the title, I hope there's a second one next year). The race was as bland as you'd expect, with up-close views of the practice field bubble, the Route 3 parking lot exit ramp, and the Route 120 parking lot entrance ramp. But the payoff was the last 200 yards, which led into the stadium and down the field to the goal line. That was the point when my girlfriend/running partner left me in the dust. Well excuse me if I wanted to take some mid-stride photos for the blog.

What the Giants 5k lacked in scenery...

...it made up for with its finish line.

As an even better treat, the Giants opened up their locker room after the race for runners to take a tour.

This is as clean and quiet as this place gets.

Notice the Jets' curtain rod hooks above the mural.

Outside the entrance to the locker room is the infamous mural that the Jets staff covered up with black curtains for last season's critical Week 16 battle against their co-tenants. Lawrence Tynes, David Diehl and Zak DeOssie angrily removed the curtains before Jets security later intervened.

While others were photographing lockers, I was captivated by this notice warning players about bad tackling technique. It reminded me of a huge plaque I saw in the Baltimore Ravens locker room 10 years ago. It was the biggest sign in the room, and read "SEE WHAT YOU HIT." Remember this the next time James Harrison gripes that his helmet-first tackles are the way he was taught to play.

Like any NFL coach, Tom Coughlin is big on mantras. Some are short and sweet...

...while others, not so much.

After their return to glory under the Bill Parcells era, Giants ownership was pretty much bulletproof for a couple of decades. That's changed in the last few years with the passing of Wellington Mara and the institution of Personal Seat Licenses to fund the new stadium. However, you can't say that the Giants owners have forgotten who their customers are. This is the last thing the players see before they take the field:

...and it's gametime 
(smoke machine and fireworks not shown).

A little good luck...

Training camp is upon us. Check back in next Wednesday for my next post. In the meantime, you can follow my daily NFL musings at @BostonGiant.