Giants name Honorary Captains

Giants name Honorary Captains
Giants.com
By Michael Eisen
Jan 17, 2008

Harry Carson and Lt. Col. Greg Gadson Named Giants Honorary Captains for NFC Championship Game.

Lt. Col. Greg Gadson has been inspiration to the Giants.

One of the men is very well known to the Giants and their fans: Harry Carson, the Hall of Fame linebacker who played for the team from 1976-88. Carson remains a frequent and valued presence around the Giants.

The other honorary captain has become a special figure to the players and coaches this season, but is unknown outside the immediate team family: U.S. Army Lt. Colonel Greg Gadson, who lost both of his legs in May when an IED (improvised explosive device) detonated while he was serving in Iraq. Gadson spoke to the Giants prior to their victory in Washington in September and he attended their Wild Card victory at Tampa Bay two weeks ago.

Coach Tom Coughlin selected Carson and Gadson as the honorary captains for their leadership abilities and the respect they command from the players and coaches.

�I�ve always been a very strong advocate of Harry in terms of what he accomplished on the field and the quality of person he is,� Coughlin said. �Harry Carson, to me, represents the Hall of Fame, the New York Giants and New York Giants pride, and I think this is another excellent opportunity for us to express our gratification to Harry for the great player that he was and the quality of person that he is.

�Lt. Colonel Greg Gadson � is a real hero. There is a real man. His sacrifice, what he has done in his young life so that we all are able to sleep under the blanket of freedom is an incredible testimony to the quality of man that he is and his belief in the values that we all aspire to believe in.

"We just thought that this was a natural at this point in time. Since John Mara met Greg way back when, John has wanted him to be with us on the sideline as much as he can. The only reason he wasn't in Dallas was because he had surgery. It's a tremendous opportunity for us to thank him, first of all. His son will be with him, and this opportunity means as much to us as it does to Greg and his family. And I think it's good for America. The NFL is an extremely, extremely popular game and we are in the final four, one step from the Super Bowl. And really what's important is that we honor someone like Lt. Colonel Greg Gadson. Every player on this team is touched by that guy."

Carson and Gadson haven't met, but they sound as if they're mimicking each other each other when they speak about leaders, teamwork and their opportunity to stand in the center of Lambeau Field for the coin toss on Sunday.

"I was really surprised and really honored, much like when George Young passed away and at his funeral service I was the only player asked to speak," Carson said. "Another example is when we went to the Super Bowl in '86 and (Bill) Parcells sent me out for the coin toss as the lone captain. It's an honor and I don't take it lightly. It made me feel good."

As it did Gadson.

"It's overwhelming and I'm completely honored that they felt that way about me," Gadson said. "I certainly feel that way about them. It's really been a unique experience. Eight months ago I never would have imagined that my life would have been turned upside down and I'd have these things happen to me. I'm just fighting to get it back together again. Here I am now going out as an honorary captain for the New York Giants. I don't know that you ever have dreams like that. So I'm really very honored and very flattered. And to be out there with Harry Carson, who was one of my heroes growing up, makes it even more special."

Both Carson and Gadson are leadership specialists. Carson was a team captain (either with others or solo) for most of his last decade with the Giants. To the Giants of the 1980s, and particularly the 1986 team that won Super Bowl XXI, Carson is still the team�s leader.

That point was driven home to Coughlin in May, when he was honored as the 2007 Man of the Year by MAN (Minority Athletes Networking) Inc., a non-profit organization co-founded by former Giants Ron Johnson and George Martin and a group that Carson is intimately involved with. MAN Inc. is dedicated to positively influencing the lives of disadvantaged youth in the tri-state area.

Approximately 15 members of the 1986 Giants attended the MAN dinner. Coughlin was impressed with the deep bond that still exists among the players, one that is constantly fostered by Carson.

"I could just sense the tremendous respect and admiration they all had for each other and they had fun being back together," Coughlin said. "It's hard to separate anybody out, but right in the middle was Harry."

That's where Carson has been since he first wore a Giants uniform almost 32 years ago.

"Tom looked at the relationships that we have as players after all these years," Carson said. "The guys still call me their captain. When Pepper Johnson sends me an email he says, 'My captain.' You have those bonds, you have those relationships. As you prepare for battle and you're going to war - but in a different way - you go to war with the guys that are around you. And you hold those guys up with the utmost respect. Those guys - Carl Banks, Jim Burt, Pepper Johnson - they still refer to me as their captain.

"I'm happy that the organization looks at me in the same way. I'm almost 20 years out of football, but I still have a relationship with the organization, and I'm very honored to have been asked to be an honorary captain for this game.

Gadson, 41, was in a war - a real one - and it cost him his legs. He also suffered less severe injuries. Gadsen had surgery on his arm last week - "For the first time in eight months I'm able to touch my nose and eat with my right hand," he said yesterday - and he is learning to use prosthetic legs. But as much as he's looking forward to Sunday, he would return to the battlefield in a heartbeat if he could.

"The opposite side of the coin is I could be in Iraq leading my soldiers," Gadson said. "Honestly, as special as this is, that's where I want to be first. I could also be dead, because I almost died. But I'm thankful I'm alive and having a chance to participate in this."

Gadson was introduced to the Giants by wide receivers coach Mike Sullivan, his teammate and fellow member of the Class of 1989 at West Point. Gadson was a three-year starter at linebacker. The two men have remained close friends. Sullivan visited Gadson at Walter Reed Army Hospital just outside of Washington in June. He was taken by Gadson's upbeat attitude and determination in the face of tremendous adversity. Sullivan told Gadson he wanted him to attend the game when the Giants visited the Redskins.

As the game approached, Sullivan told Coughlin about Gadson. The coach arranged for Gadson to speak to the then 0-2 team the night before they played the Redskins. Gadson talked for 15 minutes and received a standing ovation when he was finished.

"His message and the lessons that he spoke of in terms of team - the seriousness of his team and how he prepared his team and the thoughts that he had about the people that served under him in Iraq were just tremendous lessons," Coughlin said. "I told our players that it's not often in our lives that we meet an individual who can have a profound influence on our lives just simply by the value of the character of the man and what he stands for. This guy is something very special."

The day after Gadson spoke to the team, Plaxico Burress scored a touchdown and immediately presented the ball to Gadson, who was sitting in his wheelchair on the sideline. The Giants trailed at halftime, 17-3, but rallied for a 24-17 victory that turned around their season.

When the Giants arrived in Tampa, Gadson, to the surprise of everyone but Coughlin and Sullivan, was waiting for them in the hotel. He was greeted warmly by everyone.

"I'm honored that the players and I have developed a bond in the short time that we have," Gadson said. "They're a special group of men that is playing well as a team. They got it. It's a team sport. Their accomplishments are greater as a team than they are as individuals."

Carson believes that teamwork is the key to the Giants' success.

"I'm very happy for the team," Carson said. "I'm not overly surprised. I always felt that this was a team that if it played smart, and regardless of what happens, keeps playing as hard as you can play, good things can happen. This is a team that Tom has put together and has done a good job of instilling the concept of team in these guys. It's about playing for one another. It's not about the individual, it's not about stats - it's about winning. Whenever guys are called on, it's about stepping up and making a play."

The Giants will need to make many plays on Sunday if they are to win the conference title and advance to Super Bowl XLII. Carson and Gadson hope they can use their position as honorary captains to help inspire the team to greatness.

"Plaxico tells the story of his first year with the Giants when he got hurt in a game," Carson said. "He looked over on the sideline and saw me and one or two other (former) players. He said the look that we gave him, he knew, "I better get back into the game." We sort of laugh about that.

"But when you have guys that have been there, guys that have won it all, guys who know what it takes, perhaps that can help inspire some of the younger guys. I hope that I can be an inspiration for them."

Gadson will be accompanied on the field by his 13-year-old son, Jaelen.

"When I was in Tampa, it was the first time I saw everybody since Washington," Gadson said. "I felt that I was as special to them as they are to me. I was in the team hotel when they filed in and I had my prosthetic legs on. The eye contact we made with each other as the players came in, I felt then that I was part of the team."

He's correct. And on Sunday, Gadson and Carson will be with the Giants on the field for the NFC Championship Game.