They wanted this one for John Mara, and they won this one for their beloved owner.
Watching his Giants beat the Cowboys won’t beat his cancer.
But for John Mara, accepting the game ball from interim head coach Mike Kafka with members of his family and football family applauding for him in the Giants locker room after Giants 34, Cowboys 17 in the season finale meant everything to and for him.
“I’m gonna be jogging to my treatments now instead of walking,” Mara told the team, according to Daniel Bellinger.
John Mara means everything to the NFL, and he means everything to the players and coaches and front office personnel who work for him.
“His resilience, us finding a way to win for him is very important,” Jameis Winston told The Post. “He was excited, he was happy. That’s what he wants, he wants this team to win, and I’m grateful that we were able to do that for him.”
Winston and Russell Wilson were first-year Giants.
“I think John Mara means a lot to the National Football League as a whole,” Wilson told The Post, “but also just to us as players, and to me personally, I’ve seen a lot of kids in the children’s hospital, I’ve see a lot of people go through ups and downs in life, and what I would always say is we’re all gonna face adversity at some point in our life, whether if it’s a young 4-, 5-, 8-year-old or somebody who’s done everything you can accomplish in life, like a John Mara. But the one thing that always rings true in my opinion is that the relentless belief in the next step … the relentless belief in the next moment, and the relentless belief in each other is what always overcomes. And I think that John Mara’s the direct example of that.
“I think he’s been an unbelievable example to us players, unbelievable example to this organization, an unbelievable example to anyone that’s going through something tough. It just means a lot to be around him, we’re grateful that we were able to get this last win.”
Jaxson Dart was happy that Mara could have this moment.
“It was sweet. … Obviously, he’s going through a lot so the fact that he shows up for us, still comes to the facility to work, and he just loves ball,” Dart said. “He loves this organization. He gives it everything that he has. From my perspective and everybody around here just has the utmost respect for him and is rooting for him and praying for him. I just think that he’s a special individual and to continue to support us while he’s going through probably the hardest time of his life right now just says a lot.”
Bellinger has been working with a 5-year-old boy with leukemia named Giuseppe.
“Just knowing what the kid goes through and then seeing Mr. Mara have to go through this stuff, after seeing Mr. Mara in the last three years in here with so much energy and life and excited after wins … of course he’s excited today, but it’s just tough to see what he’s going through, and it’s important to me that he knows that I want to support him through all this stuff ’cause I know it’s not easy, I know it’s tough,” Bellinger told The Post.
“Being able to at least get a win against the Cowboys and make him a little bit happier can make him take his mind off of what he’s going through outside of football.”
Greg Van Roten has been a Giant for two seasons.
“You could just tell that this was a meaningful moment for him,” Van Roten said.
Mara has won four Super Bowl championships. But he hasn’t come close to a fifth since the 2011 season. Abdul Carter felt compelled to volunteer his emotions.
“Giving that game ball to Mr. Mara is fine, but he deserves more,” Carter said. “This franchise, everybody deserves more. He would be much more happy if we were in the playoffs, having a winning record, that’s what I tried to say at the end.
“Next year, we’ve got to come with a whole different mentality, make sure that we’re never in this position again.”
From his mouth to John Mara’s ears.
