Book conveys story of painful triumph

By David Mullens

Noted NFL insider and former The Dallas Morning News sportswriter Gary Myers has just released Once a Giant: A Story of Victory, Tragedy, and Life After Football. Using the 1986 Super Bowl Champion New York Giants as a case study on and off the field, Myers relies on former head coach Bill Parcells and a cast of NFL’s elite players like Lawrence Taylor, Phil Simms, Harry Carson, Mark Bavaro and Leonard Marshall to tell painful stories of success and suffering.

Once a Giant is an examination of what players experienced in the leaner times before big contracts and during the “shake it off” injury policy that would eventually lead to expanded concussion protocols. The book has become the No. 1 Best Seller on amazon.com in the category of sports medicine.

“It’s because life after football, to me, is such a crucial issue,” Myers said. “For the players of that generation — the 80s — but also for players of every generation since then. It’s fine to live in the moment, in terms of how your team is doing that particular year, but I think it’s short sighted not to think about what your life is going to be when you are 50 or 60.”

Myers has unparalleled access to NFL players and coaches earned from covering the NFL for more than four decades. He writes about the off field challenges many pro football players faced then and still face today. More than telling of their success stories on the field, Myers takes a microscope to go inside the untold stories using the ’86 Giants as the study sample. 

“From that generation that I wrote about, [the players] were not taken care of. The protocols were not in place to protect them like they are now with concussion protocols,” Myers said. “Guys used to get concussions and they said they ‘got their bell rung.’ They used to take these guys to the sidelines and say, ‘Can you count to five? What’s your name? You know what city you’re in? OK, you’re fine. Go back in the game.’ Today, they’d be out three weeks.”

Myers has looked at the players of the ‘86 Giants — a 14-2 team that outscored the San Francisco 49ers and Washington Redskins 66-3 in the NFC playoffs before cruising to a 39-20 victory over the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXI — less in terms of Xs and Os and more with regard to the physical, emotional and financial issues the players faced before and after the final whistle sounded. 

“I wanted to write about players from that generation and the impact that the game has had on their lives,” Myers said. “In some cases, it’s been very, very good. They were set up financially. They used their celebrity, so to speak, to help them in their life after football. You have to remember that these guys weren’t making anything like they’re making today. It was a rare guy who became independently wealthy from playing football and didn’t have to work the rest of his life. They all needed to find something to do post football.”

Early NFL players had inadequate health insurance programs, and often years of playing a violent sport became outwardly apparent later in life. Bad backs, joint replacements and in extreme cases, head trauma would appear when the health insurance ran out and there were few places to turn. “It’s better now than it was, but it’s still completely insufficient. Most of these health issues come about when these players get to their 50s and 60s and that’s caused a lot of financial issues. I felt this was a really important issue.”

After more than 30 years, many of the former Giants players remain in close contact. In the book, Myers positions head coach Parcells — the Cowboys head coach from 2003-2006 — as the steady advisor. “Bill has always been there for me,” Hall of Fame defensive star Taylor is quoted in the book. “I’ve had problems, even outside of football life. I know I can always count on him.”

Few people have been immersed in the NFL life like Myers. He has covered the NFL since 1978. After his stint in Dallas, the Syracuse University graduate was an NFL columnist for the New York Daily News, a regular contributor on HBO’s “Inside the NFL” and on the regional YES Network. His book, Brady vs. Manning, became a New York Times bestseller. 

Myers remains an active voter for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

 Once a Giant is Myers sixth sports book, including How ‘Bout Them Cowboys?: Inside the Huddle with the Stars and Legends of America’s Team, but his first about a New York team. “I felt this was a really important issue to write about. I had to figure out a way to frame it. It was either going to be talking to as many players as I could from teams all across the league from the mid- to late-80s or focus on one team. If I just cherry-picked players, there wouldn’t have been a flow to the book.”

 With eight pro bowl players, a Hall of Fame coach in Parcells and arguably the greatest defensive player in NFL history (Taylor), the 1986 New York Giants were one of pro football’s all-time elite teams, but with the triumph came trouble. “The thing that makes this team unique is that 37 years later, the bond is still strong,” Myers said. “They really take care of each other. 

“I don’t think you have to be a Giants fan to read this book,” Myers said. “You don’t even have to be a football fan. I just think there are a lot of human-interest stories, some heartbreaking and some heartwarming. The heartwarming part is how this team became a brotherhood.”