The Mets have captivated that part of the city that does not belong to the Yankees, and they will be playing Game 1 of the NLCS in — against the (Dodgers-Padres winner) — at the same time as the Giants will be hosting the Bengals on Sunday night at MetLife Stadium.
For the 2-3 Giants, this miracle Mets run out of nowhere can serve as a reminder of how New York will wrap its arms around and love a winner like nowhere else.
Or come Monday night, when the Bronx is burning, they will have a chance to watch Game 1 of the ALCS when the Yankees continue their quest for that elusive 28th World Series championship against the Tigers-Indians survivor.
Daniel Jones, who can tell his many teammates who were not part of the Giants’ surprise 2022 playoff run how the town embraced them, watched Francisco Lindor’s grand slam that carried the Mets to their NLDS Game 4 clincher over the Phillies at Party Citi Field.
“Just an awesome atmosphere,” Jones told The Post. “Obviously the grand slam was a really cool moment. Think it was just kind of cool he hit the home run, just kind of ran around the bases and kept it cool, and yeah, a lot of respect for Lindor, that whole team really — have the season they’ve had, battled back from it not looking so good at the beginning, and then catching some momentum and building that in the playoffs. It was a fun game to watch.”
The Giants, 0-2 at home without a touchdown, need to give their fans a fun game to watch. Micah McFadden was a rookie in 2022.
“There’s a different vibe. Within here especially, just knowing the opportunities guys had outside the building,” he told The Post. “You’d see a bunch of former Giants come back, just excited about the team. And there was an excitement that ran through the building, and I think it ran through the fan base as well, at games especially late in the season when things were getting close and we thought we might have a chance to go. It’s definitely an exciting place to win, tough place to lose, but obviously you want to be on the winning side of it.”
The Giants lost to the Cowboys on Thursday night at MetLife — the night the Yankees clinched the AL East by beating the Orioles.
“They put it up on the screen and everybody’s going crazy,” McFadden said. “You can feel the excitement within the city for sure.”
Darius Slayton, who will need to step up again with Malik Nabers (concussion) still sidelined, has endured difficult times in his six-year Giants career. Then came 2022.
“It was a lot of fun,” Slayton told The Post. “It was by far the most positive year I’ve had here. But a lot of good memories from that year.”
Greatest place to win.
“It was a lot of positive energy,” Slayton said. “Obviously New York’s such a big media market, you obviously get a lot of media attention whether good or bad, but when it’s going good, you’re on ‘Good Morning Football’ and all these things. It just adds to the fanfare of it.”
Adoree’ Jackson did not watch the Mets’ clincher but knew they had advanced. He was a starting cornerback when the Giants won the wild-card game over the Vikings.
“It’s a great feeling,” Jackson said. “ Coming here in ’21, I don’t think you understood the perks of winning. You got to see how much love the city showed. It kind of reminded me a little bit when I was at USC, went to the Holiday Bowl, and I just didn’t feel, like, that tradition, that atmosphere of what it was like winning when Reggie Bush and them was there, obviously, so like, what it was like winning here when the Super Bowl era was here in New York. So to get a small glimpse of that of what it could be and what it feels like, it’s always great. So I think just winning in New York, it’s a great feeling to have.”
Wan’Dale Robinson was a rookie in 2022.
“It’s fun. It’s a different vibe for sure,” he told The Post. “Obviously everybody’s happy when you’re winning, so obviously this is a very large place, and large fan base, and definitely want to make those people happy.
“You could go anywhere, and if anybody recognized you they’re congratulating you. It was just nice to know that everybody was supporting.”
Joe Burrow and Co. will test a sack-happy Giants defense that will be without Kayvon Thibodeaux (wrist), which will place an added burden on Jones and Co.
“We know if we want to win, we got to score touchdowns,” Robinson said. “We can’t just go out there getting three points, even though we have an elite defense and we have all the confidence in the world in them. Since those two home games we progressed a lot.”
Jones and Brian Daboll failed to finish in the red zone against the Cowboys.
“Obviously we plan on changing that this Sunday,” Slayton said.
Giants fans deserve to see a win … and at the very least, a touchdown. “Yeah,” Slayton said, “they deserve to see a win.”
You don’t deserve a New York love affair if you don’t win.
