NEW ORLEANS — This is the fourth Super Bowl for Kayvon Thibodeaux.
The same for Bobby Okereke.
Of course, this does not mean what it sounds like it could mean.
The Giants for quite some time have not come close to making it this far.
Thibodeaux and Okereke since 2022 spent time the week leading into the big game in Los Angeles; Glendale, Ariz.; Las Vegas; and, for the next few days, the Big Easy — following in the footsteps of so many athletes who try to take advantage of the megahype to make some money and build their brand off the field.
Fun, right? Well, yes. And no.
“I hate being here,” Thibodeaux told The Post on Tuesday. “You try to play in the big game, man, this is what we do it for. We’re compeтιтors, we want to win. That’s really the end-all, be-all, to win, especially in this team sport.’’
This is an especially difficult time to represent the Giants.
Thibodeaux has been with the franchise for three seasons and Okereke two, and neither has experienced much success.
The whole deal went from bad to worse in 2024.
The Giants won just three games, Thibodeaux missed five games around midseason with a fractured wrist, and Okereke missed the final five with a herniated disk in his back.
Everything about traveling to the Super Bowl city and joining in the festivities is in some way a reminder of why they are here. It is not about football, that is for sure.
“All this interview practice is good, media content, social stuff is great, but at the end of the day, everybody here is celebrating the two teams playing, the Chiefs and the Eagles,” Okereke said, “and as a compeтιтor, something in you wants to be the team celebrating, have that attention on you and be on the biggest stage.’’
The Giants do not get to play on the biggest stage.
Their 3-14 record put them off-off-off-off Broadway, far from the bright lights, buried in NFL darkness.
“When it comes to understanding the heat and the pᴀssion of the game, and what it takes for people to be invested in your team and what it takes to earn the respect of fans and just the NFL as a whole, yeah, you do hate being at the bottom,” said Thibodeaux, who along with Okereke was on media row on behalf of Bounty paper towels. “You do feel a burning desire to rise to the top.’’
The Giants are at or near the bottom.
The Eagles are close to reaching the top.
That is another insult the Giants must deal with.
Seeing an NFC East rival that has owned them for the past decade is bad enough.
Seeing one of their own, Saquon Barkley, lead the charge, well, that is an eyesore, as far as the Giants are concerned.
“It’s tough because we all understand this is a business,” Okereke said. “The pride and love we have for being a New York Giant, at the end of the day we have a team owner, we have a general manager, we have a lot of people in the finance department upstairs who deal with the numbers outside of the Xs and Os of football. So there is that aspect of it. We have a lot of love and respect for Saquon, for the leadership he showed when he was a Giant and the plays that he made.’’
Thibodeaux juggled his mixed emotions adroitly.
“I hate the Eagles, man,” he said. “But on a personal level, super proud of Saquon, super proud of what he’s been able to do. I think everybody has their own trials and tribulations and mountains to climb, and he’s been climbing his, so definitely, I’m not rooting for the Eagles, but I’m rooting for him.’’
Barkley ran for 2,005 yards in his first season with the Eagles.
He never soared that high with the Giants.
“Just thinking about Saquon’s career with the Giants, he had a banged-up team and or not the best team he has now,” Thibodeaux said. “The Eagles roster is loaded, they got a lot of great players, they got great All-Pros up front. When you put a dynamic player like Saquon on a solid roster with not as many injuries and not as many situations and all the talent around him, he can succeed.’’
