The Ring – Photo provided by New York Giants
Giants Receive Their Rings: The NFL Champion New York Giants received their Super Bowl rings yesterday at a private ceremony event at Tiffany & Co. on Fifth Avenue.
The ring was designed by Tiffany & Co. with input from ownership, General Manager Jerry Reese, Head Coach Tom Coughlin, and the players.
“After a few meetings, Tiffany came up with several different options that they showed us and you kind of picked from there,” said QB Eli Manning. “We wanted it to be little different than the last ring.”
“We wanted it to represent the four trophies and have that feeling that you made the best ring that you could have made,” said DE Justin Tuck. “I think we captured that.”
“First and foremost,” said Long Snapper DeOssie, “we kept our teammates’ best interests in mind, so we wanted something that would appeal to everybody in the locker room. We gave some thoughts on the design and then Tiffany came in with five or six models. They were beautiful. We wanted something a little more modest, but at the same time you can’t help but notice it is a championship ring. The owners deferred to us as the players and we got everything we wanted. We went back and forth three or four times in an email chain. I think everyone was on board with the one we picked and couldn’t be happier about it.”
The top of the ring includes four Vince Lombardi trophies, commemorating the four Giants’ Super Bowl wins, and each set with a marquis diamond representing the football. The four trophies surround the Giants’ “ny” logo which is set with round diamonds on a blue enamel outline. The top of the ring also includes 37 blue sapphires set on the outer bezel. The text around the bezel reads “2011 WORLD CHAMPIONS NEW YORK GIANTS.”
“The blue makes it a little different,” Manning said. “We wanted some blue – the Giants are Big Blue. We definitely wanted to get a little blue to spark it up a little bit.”
“I think all of us wanted to have some blue in the ring, from the ownership down,” Tuck said. “We wanted to make the ring different from the ring we had earlier. The ’08 ring had no color in it – it was just white diamonds. We wanted those to sparkle a little bit more and stand out a little bit more. We talked to guys on the team and the consensus was a lot of guys wanted to see more color in the ring.”
One shank of the ring has the Giants logo, the Lombardi Trophy, the NFL shield, the words “Super Bowl XLVI,” and the final score – NYG 21 NE 17. The opposite shank has the recipient’s name, the Giants circular logo with the player’s number in the center, and EST. 1925 (the year the franchise was founded). The lower palm side of shanks list the four seasons the Giants won the Super Bowl: 1986, 1990, 2007 and 2011.
Engraved inside the ring are the words “Finish” and “All In” two inspirational phrases that rallied the Giants throughout the season.
“We wanted to get a few things that were significant to this season – (including) ‘Finish’ on the inside,” Manning said. “Things like that make the ring special.”
“We definitely wanted ‘Finish,’ we definitely wanted ‘All In,’” Tuck said. “Those were two things we prided ourselves on, not only during the season, but especially through the playoff run. And we won games that way. So we definitely wanted those in there.”
“We took in a lot of opinions,” said Tuck. “We all came to a decision to make this ring our ring, because everyone loved it. When Tiffany brought it in the last day, there was silence because everyone was thinking, ‘Wow.’ It really captured everything we wanted to capture in the ring. Coach Coughlin was adamant about having ‘World Champions’ on it. Plus they did a great job designing the ring to fit around our fingers and really look good on your hand – not just having a big, ostentatious ring on your hand. They worked on the balance of the ring when it’s on your hand. I think Tiffany did a great job.”
“I couldn’t be happier with everything about the ring,” DeOssie said. “It’s absolutely beautiful.”
Article on Former Giants Receiving Their Rings: Former Giants Get Super Bowl Rings by Paul Schwartz of The New York Post
Article on the New York Giants and the Future: Giants Entertain Thoughts of ‘Dynasty’ at Super Bowl Ring Ceremony by Mike Garafolo of The Star-Ledger
Injury Update on OG Chris Snee: As reported earlier (see “News and Notes” from March 30) had arthroscopic surgery on one of his elbows in late March. “I had elbow surgery, I feel good, I’ve been gaining my strength back and doing some work on the field,” said Snee on Tuesday. “I’ll be back there next week for OTAs. Good to go.”
Article on OG Chris Snee: Giants Guard Snee Wants Running Game to Improve by Paul Schwartz of The New York Post
ESPN Radio Interview with DE Justin Tuck: The audio of Tuesday’s ESPN Radio interview with DE Justin Tuck is available at ESPN.com.
Article on DE Osi Umenyiora: Giants’ Justin Tuck Says There Are No ‘Flames’ Around Osi Umenyiora’s Contract Situation Yet by Mike Garafolo of The Star-Ledger
Article on LB Jake Muasau: More from Jake Muasau on Earning an NFL Contract by Doug Roberson of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Article on Lt. Col. Greg Gadson: Lt. Col. Greg Gadson Vows to Remain Inspiration for Giants, Despite Mike Sullivan’s Departure by Mike Garafolo of The Star-Ledger
Article on Former Giants PK Matt Bahr and the 1990 NFC Championship: Matt Bahr on Kicking the Giants to a Championship While ‘Dinged Up’ by Greg Hanlon of CapitalNewYork.com
Quotes: WR Hakeem Nicks on WR Rueben Randle: “I got to see him a little bit (on Tuesday). We ran some routes. He seemed like a pretty humble kid. It seems like he’s ready to come to work and play football.”
BBI Store: Super Bowl memorabilia won’t be available forever! Visit the BBI Store (Amazon.com).
Want to See the Giants in Person Either Home or Away? Visit GoTickets.com.
