Giants Hall of Fame DE Michael Strahan
Q: What are you most looking forward to tonight?
A: Seeing all the guys. There are several things: One is seeing all the guys who I've played with and haven't seen in years. A lot of them came to the show this morning, which was exciting, but a little nervous for me to do the show in front of them and the fans, obviously. The whole reason you get out here and you play and you do some things that you don't necessarily feel like are really possible, but you seem to make it happen from the energy from the fans. So I'm looking forward to getting that one last time.
Q: Did you ever think you'd have a night like this?
A: No, never. I never thought about this. I just thought about playing and doing the best I could and let the chips fall where they may and they've all fallen into place. Believe me, there's still a part of me that wishes I could put on a uniform and come out here and play tonight. That would be nice, but if I did that I don't know how many plays I'd make and then I'd definitely know I wouldn't be able to get out of bed in the morning.
Q: Could you sack Andrew Luck?
A: I'd love to sack Andrew Luck. The problem is catching Andrew Luck. He's lucky. He's good for a reason because he's a great hard-working player. It would be very nice to sack a lot of these young guys.
Q: What does it mean to have almost one hundred guys come out and honor you tonight?
A: It's something that's overwhelming in a lot of ways, and to have the other Hall of Famers here with me as well… I never thought about any of it. You realize what you miss when you stop playing. What you miss is you do miss the guys. You miss that more than anything. You miss coming out of the tunnels with the fans. But when it's all said and done you kind of figure that that's the relationship that you kind of had and you don't know if you'll ever see a lot of the guys again. But to have these guys get called and say of course they'll come and fly from out of town, a lot of them long distances to be here, really means the world to me and lets me know that our relationships that we had were real and it makes you appreciate the game and sports and teamwork and just comradery.
Q: Did you get a chance to address the team?
A: No. I haven't seen the team. I haven't talked to the team. I was here last week and I got a chance to see coach and talk to him and some of the other coaches, but that was about it. I haven't had the chance to see the team yet. Maybe I'll get a chance to see them before the game. I'm sure I will.
Q: What's it going to mean for you to hear that ovation again, to hear the stadium crowd, your fans, Giants fans, go nuts for you one more time on the field?
A: It will be incredible. I'm looking forward to it. I just know when I used to come out as a player you don't know exactly what you're going to do when you come out of the tunnel. The energy from the fans is what really gets you going. They set the tone for the team and when they're energetic the team is energetic. When they're energetic for you, you're energetic for them. It's one thing to get out there and play this game… it's too hard of a game to play for yourself. It's something that you have to do with a bigger vision in mind. My vision as a player, which is my vision that I've carried over into every day of my life is just do it for something bigger than myself, which is not to disappoint the people that support you. That was always, when I came out of the tunnel it was give it everything I have because I want them to go home and be happy with the effort. Win or lose, you're not always going to win but that they can go home and say, 'You know what, I can tell me put it all out there for us. Hopefully the team today will do that for them and add on to a very special evening for myself.
Q: Do you get recognized as a football player on the streets of New York or is it more now as a talk show host?
A: Well, a lot of the tough guys that used to talk about football now go, 'Oh, I love you on TV.' A lot of that's kind of shifted. It's a little bi of both but probably more from TV than anything else. But that's a compliment. I look at that as a compliment to be able to go from sports to television and have people not just look at you as an athlete. I also know that without this there is none of that. Football, my life to football, my life to this game, my life to the Giants and being here in New York and bringing me here in '93 and letting me hang around for 15 seasons. I don't lose sight of that I'm being recognized for now but I realize that I'm only recognized for that because of what I did in the past.
Q: Do you have family here with you today?
A: My son's here. My son Michael is here. My mom and dad are here. Everybody else has school or work but yeah, they're here and everybody else is texting me and supporting me and as my sister said, keep your shirt on. I promised her I'll do that.
Q: Why, were you contemplating that?
A: No, I don't know where she got that from. She's crazy
