Multiple Banner-toting Planes Reportedly Set to Encircle MetLife Stadium Sunday

Giants fans continue to be dismayed over the direction of the franchise.

A banner being flown from an airplane above MetLife Stadium imploring New York Giants team ownership to fix the team during last season. | Patricia Traina for New York Giants On SI

Despite the excitement that seems to have been breathed into the New York Giants following the announcement that the Jaxson Dart era is about to begin, some fans remain upset over the direction of the team to the point where there could be multiple message-toting small aircraft encircling the MetLife Stadium skies on Sunday when the Giants host the Los Angeles Chargers.

The small aircraft with messages urging Giants co-owner John Mara to “fire everyone” and “fix this dumpster fire” first appeared toward the end of last season as the Giants went on to a franchise-worst 3-14 record. 

There were supposed to be even more message-toting planes last year as well, but inclement weather forced the aircraft company to ground the planes scheduled to run those messages due to safety concerns. 

Despite the team’s struggles, Mara and fellow team co-owner Steve Tisch decided against cleaning house. Instead, they retained both General Manager Joe Schoen and Head Coach Brian Daboll after both men presented a detailed plan for addressing the team’s shortcomings.

The biggest shortcoming was the play of the quarterback, but as it would turn out, the Giants’ initial plan, to acquire Rams starter Matthew Stafford in a trade, did not come to fruition after Stafford decided to stay with the Rams. 

That left the Giants having to move on to Plan B, which involved signing Russell Wilson, who would eventually be named the starter, and adding Jameis Winston as a backup.

The Giants, who were also active in the draft process in vetting quarterbacks, ultimately decided that Ole Miss signal-caller Jaxson Dart was their man. So they traded back into the bottom of the first round to acquire him. 

The plan took yet another twist when after stating that they preferred to give Dart as much of a redshirt year as possible while letting Wilson lead the offense, Dart not only impressed enough to land as QB2 ahead of Winston, but after three straight losses, the rookie was promoted ahead of Wilson and will start the rest of the year with Wilson backing him up, Daboll announced this week.

While that announcement has reignited some excitement in an otherwise disappointed fan base, it appears not enough for those involved in renting the plane (including a 16-year-old fan who raised funds through a GoFundMe campaign) to overlook the other issues they perceive as holding the team back.

After initially declining to comment on the planes that did get off the ground, Mara finally addressed them at the end of last season when he spoke about the decision to retain Schoen and Daboll. 

“I didn’t need planes flying over me to tell me how upset the fans were,” he said. “I hear from them every day. So that really did not have much of an effect. 

“I get how upset they are. I try to respond to them. Nobody was more upset than I am about how we’ve performed in recent years, and I have to stand up here and take the heat.” 

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