“There is no city like New York City. It’s the best place in the world to have success. It is true. If you do something in New York, you can do anything. My life is a living testament to that. I’m very grateful that I’ve come to this city,” said former New York Giants defensive end Michael Strahan once. No.92’s 15-year journey in New York saw him earn 7 Pro Bowls and record 141.5 sacks, only behind Lawrence Taylor in franchise history. An NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2001, a two-time NFL sack leader, and lots of other honors. Strahan came, saw, and conquered New York. Now, Strahan’s time in NYC may seem like a casual stroll around Central Park. However, New York is not what it looks like. It’s a lot scarier from the inside.

Hopping on 7 PM in Brooklyn with Carmela Anthony, Strahan gave a brutal reality check on those who thought New York is all sunshine and rainbows. “They will eat you alive,” Strahan said with a deep voice. Now, to back his claim that New York City eats you like a bag of chips. Strahan gave his own example of how his plan of succeeding in New York soon blew up on his face. “I came in I was just ignorant. I was just like. We’ll get the guy with the ball…like I don’t know what I’m doing, but I know I got to eat, and the family’s got to eat so let me figure it out and the way I do that,” Strahan added. However, Michael’s first few years in New York didn’t go the way he thought they would.

It was not until 1997, 4 years after the Giants picked him, that Strahan had his breakout year. Before that, he dealt with injuries in his rookie year that limited him to just 9 games. Meanwhile, the next 3 years, his sacks dangled around 4.5, 7.5, and 5, respectively. And those below-par performances often led to him becoming a target of the media. As Strahan recalled, “Dealing with New York and dealing with the pressure and dealing with the press and all that stuff. I did not like it early in my career, and it was tough, man.”

Continuing on his thoughts about New York, Strahan called it a rollercoaster ride with its constant ups and downs. “You read this stuff about yourself, one day you’re the greatest thing. The next thing, you’re the worst next day. It was just an emotional roller coaster, and..it will eat you up,” Strahan mused. Now New York media wasn’t the only always on the tail of Strahan whenever he screwed up. He even spoke about some passionate G-Men who carried the same mentality: “I can’t even go to a drive-thru. They might just throw the food at me.”

However, after getting heckled for every little mistake in Big Blues. Strahan came to a point where he couldn’t care less. “But then I got to the point later in my career I realized I don’t really care,” Strahan said. After getting the hang of New York’s way of doing things, Strahan sent a strong message to those who hurled opinions at him. Let’s just say whatever he said wouldn’t go down well for all the journalists out there.

Michael Strahan doesn’t care about anyone’s opinion, especially the media

Strahan was always a man on a mission to trounce the QB whenever he hopped on the gridiron. 141.5 sacks are no joke if you take into consideration how Strahan started slow. Navigating through the daunting New York Media and high expectations of G-Men, Strahan wasn’t handed anything on a platter. He had earned his name and fame in New York, where he is now a Hall of Famer with his No.92 jersey retired. But he couldn’t have done it if he hadn’t realized something sooner. “I just stopped caring, and it was the best thing I ever did. Helped my career. I started to enjoy actually being in this,” Strahan revealed.

He even wanted the media to know that he didn’t care about their opinions because they aren’t the ones fighting it out on the gridiron. “Why am I feeling bad about your opinion why you stood up in a comfortable skybox when I’m out here and it’s minus whatever and my fingers are all jacked up..and the hands are twisted and everything’s hurting I’m out here fighting for my life and you’re up in a comfortable skybox telling me how to do this with the heat on,” Strahan just couldn’t care less about the media whose work is to just build narratives.

While Strahan and his boys had to play, whether it was scorching heat or snow falling from the skies. There’s no way he was going to allow someone else to dictate the way he conducted himself on the field. I mean, that’s Michael Strahan for you. His time in New York may not have started the way he would have wanted. But it did end in a way he would have never dreamt of. That’s something Strahan will cherish for the rest of his life. He lived the New York dream that people all around the globe fight for throughout their lives.