TAMPA – Two weeks ago, he left the press box at Giants Stadium early, with nearly a full quarter to play, secure in the knowledge that the Giants were rolling and on their way to a dynamic victory.
General manager Ernie Accorsi headed down to the field to bask in the joy of the 41-0 trouncing of the Vikings in the NFC Championship Game.
Two weeks later, Accorsi again left the press box early, this time descending down into the lower level of Raymond James Stadium for an entirely different reason. His Giants were finished, and he probably could not bear to see any more of the punishment.
Accorsi explained away the wild triumph over the Vikings by stating that strange and unpredictable things can happen in big games. Something strange and unpredictable happened to the Giants in the biggest game of all last night, as they went down hard to the Ravens 34-7 in Super Bowl XXXV.
“First of all, they’re a terrific football team,” Accorsi said of the Ravens. “They’re unique in that how many times in the history of this league do you play a team that thinks, at least in their mind, that if they have a 10-point lead, they’re in command? That’s nothing in this league.
“As far as our team is concerned, I still love this team, this was a great year for them. These things happen. We played a great football team, but things could have happened early that could have made it a dogfight.
“That’s the way this game is. They can’t judge themselves by the score. They had too good a year, they came too far.”
At a time like this, Accorsi could have internalized, could have spoken about what this devastating loss meant to him. As the GM of the Browns, three times Accorsi made it into the AFC title game and three times he failed. These Giants, a team stamped by Accorsi’s moves, got him to his first Super Bowl. After 30 years in the business, there’s still no ring for Accorsi.
“It’s just a bitter pill to swallow, you can’t do anything but swallow it,” Accorsi said. “You’re not going to make it go away and you’re not going to make it feel any better.
“That’s part of competitive sports, you’re going to have to get over it, in time to get ready for next year. We’ve got to go to work right away.”