In 2008, we closed down a couple of baseball stadiums in these parts. Yankee Stadium turned off the lights with a game that was an afterthought, but with plenty of nostalgia to keep anyone from feeling too sad about the fact that the Bombers weren't going to the postseason. That's not going to be the way things go at the last Giants game at Giants Stadium.
Things look a lot closer to the scene that played out in Queens when the Mets played their final game at Shea Stadium. The Mets had to win to keep pace with the Brewers in the battle for the Wild Card race, but they lost to the Marlins and the post-game celebration of Mets history was sparsely attended by an unhappy crowd that watched their team's once bright hopes snuffed out unceremoniously.
That's where the Giants find themselves. A loss to the Panthers doesn't necessarily kill their chances of making the playoffs, but it would certainly make for a somber scene as the fans file out of the stadium for the last time. It would be doubly somber for a fair portion of the fans, as the PSLs going in place at the new palace will keep them from holding onto their seats going forward.
On paper, it's a game the Giants should win. The Panthers looked great against the Vikings on Sunday night, but that was at home against a team that seems to be coming apart at the seams. The Giants, on the other hand, finally look like they're all on the same page and should get a boost from the crowd and situation in East Rutherford. What's more, it can be tough for a team with nothing on the line, like the Panthers, to come up with that kind of frenzied effort two weeks in a row.
Can the Giants come up with that effort twice in a row, though? Based on what we've seen this season, the answer is no. You would have said the same thing about the 2007 team at this juncture in the season, however, and that turned out pretty good. Whatever the final score, the final game at the old girl will be one that lives on long after they're playing in something with a corporate name next door. You can't ask for much more than that.
Josh Alper is a writer living in New York City and is a contributor to FanHouse.com and ProFootballTalk.com in addition to his duties for NBCNewYork.com.
