The veterans get their own rooms. The younger players double up. Either way, when the Giants hit Indy on Monday, the men in blue have been ordered to be in bed every night at their downtown hotel by midnight, which by Tom Coughlin time means 11:55 p.m.
Coughlin wouldn’t divulge that curfew time Friday, but one of his players spoke anonymously on behalf of the hour hand. Next week’s bed checks are a safeguard against temptation, and history. There are 53 roster players, plus more on the practice team and injured reserve. That’s a lot of potential naughtiness. Even when the team was housed in the middle of the desert for the 2008 Super Bowl, injured reserve player Adrian Awasom somehow managed to get himself arrested on suspicion of DUI and was sent home.
Nobody ever mistook Indianapolis for Sin City, but there will be many parties and partiers available next week. And as Victor Cruz discovered anew this season during his bullet-ridden birthday party in Chelsea, nothing good ever happens after 11:55 p.m.
“You want to maintain a sense of normalcy for the team and a sense of security for the NFL,” said Kareem McKenzie, who promises to go to bed around 11. “You want to remove the opportunity for undesirables to make contact. This is not a vacation. This is not a field trip. This is a business trip.”
There is reason to be fearful, or at least cautious. The history of Super Bowls is littered with mischievous behavior and its ramifications. In 1989, before Super Bowl XXIII in Miami, Bengals fullback Stanley Wilson went on a cocaine binge before the final pregame meeting. He was suspended by the team for the game and later for life by the league for a third drug offense. Cincinnati lost the game to 49ers, 20-16.
In 1993, Bills linebacker Darryl Talley allegedly was punched in the nose by one of Magic Johnson’s bodyguards before Super Bowl XXVII in Pasadena. That’s what witnesses reported, anyway. Talley denied the altercation, right through game day. The Bills lost. The Bills always lose.
In 1997, Brett Favre was photographed at Super Bowl XXXI in New Orleans during Super Bowl week with beer in hand, after making public his fight with addiction to painkillers and alcohol. Favre then became sick before the big game, although he played just fine in victory.
In 1999, before Super Bowl XXXIII in Miami, Falcon safety Eugene Robinson was arrested by an undercover cop for soliciting sex on the eve of the game. Robinson played in the Super Bowl but did not fare well. In 2003, at Super Bowl XXXVII in San Diego, Oakland center Barret Robbins disappeared on Saturday and headed across the border to Tijuana for a day of partying.
So there have been plenty of incidents — we’re not even talking about Ray Lewis, who wasn’t playing in XXXIV — and the Giants seem fully aware of that.
“They’re professionals, going to the biggest sporting event in the world,” Coughlin said. “There’s no way anyone wants to do anything to embarrass this franchise or their family.”
Although not every coach has installed a curfew at the Super Bowl, most have — dating back to the very first title game. Packer wide receiver Max McGee famously ignored Vince Lombardi’s edict by partying through the night and told starter Boyd Dowler, “I hope you don’t get hurt. I’m not in very good shape.” When Dowler was injured, McGee was forced to catch seven passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns in a romp over Kansas City.
Jim Fassel, Coughlin’s predecessor, placed a more liberal curfew of 1:30 a.m. on the Giants early in the week in Tampa for Super Bowl XXXV. He tightened it to 12:30 a.m. and then 11 p.m. on the eve of a game. “If you want to have a great time at the Super Bowl,” Fassel said, “go when we’re not playing.”
The Giants got to bed on time that year, then were routed, 34-7, by Baltimore. Sometimes, good rest leads to nightmares.
