Choosing your NFL/EFLI team - Optimists

New York Giants

Colours: Blue, red, grey and white

Mascot: None

Stadium: MetLife Stadium

Home City: East Rutherford, New Jersey

Super Bowl wins: 4 (5 appearances)

Records over last 5 years: 43 wins, 37 losses, 1 playoff appearance, 1 Super Bowl

Best Players: Victor Cruz, Antrel Rolle, Eli Manning

Bio: Three seasons ago the New York Giants won the Super Bowl. However, in the two seasons following that success the team has failed to return to the playoffs despite a weak division. This is the reason they find themselves in the optimist category.

The Giants are a team you can never rule out. In the last five seasons they have won two Super Bowls, both against the New England Patriots and both as serious underdogs. In the 2007 season, they denied the Patriots a perfect season, beating them in the final game to leave their standing at 18-1.

Quarterback Eli Manning, brother of future hall-of-fame quarterback Peyton Manning, is somewhat of a frustrating figure in New York. He has led his team to two Super Bowl championships, but has also thrown more than 20 interceptions on three separate occasions in his 9 years as New York’s starting man. He is maddeningly inconsistent, much like his team. They have only made the playoffs once in the last five years, but in that season they won the Super Bowl.

Historically, the Giants are a successful NFL franchise. They have won four of the five Super Bowls they have appeared in, and have played in 13 NFL Championship games before the introduction of the Super Bowl in 1967.