New York Giants Official Website

One more year?
Michael Strahan is undecided whether to return for a 16th season in 2008.
By Michael Eisen, Giants.com

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February 26, 2008

EAST RUTHERFORD -Michael Strahan was in the weight room in Giants Stadium today, pumping iron like a man preparing to play football in 2008.

But that's not why the best defensive end of his generation was hitting the weights.

"I like to work out, I love to stay in shape," Strahan said. "In California (where he owns a home) there are a lot of beaches out there. You can't be a slob on the beach. I have a reputation."

Strahan reiterated what he has been saying since the start of the 2007 season - he is undecided whether to return for a 16th season in 2008. That's been his posture since reporting to the team after skipping training camp. He repeated it throughout the regular season and postseason, last night at the premier of the Giants' championship DVD in Manhattan, and again today.

The seven-time Pro Bowler hasn't had time to ponder his future. He's still reveling in the Giants' Super Bowl victory and its aftermath and he's been planning a lengthy vacation which will commence in early March. When he has some extended quiet time he'll begin to think the issue through.

Right now, he's still enjoying the moment, though at times it remains overwhelming.

"It still, to me, it kind of feels like - I can't wrap my head around it because it is so big," Strahan said of the Giants' 17-14 triumph over the New England Patriots. "It just seems too good to be true. I think about all the years and I think about the beginning of this season and I think about not being here for training camp and I remember some of the guys (he played with)."

Many of those former teammates, as well as Strahan's large legion of friends in the sports world, have contacted him since the Giants won the Super Bowl.

"I heard from everybody," he said. "Everybody was happy, everybody was proud. It has been crazy. I hear from Phillippi Sparks all the time. I heard from my first roommate, Aaron Pierce. That was probably one of the most far back ones I got. Stacey Dillard and Hammer (Keith Hamilton) and Jessie (Armstead) was there so all my guys - (Jason) Sehorn, Christian Peter. Glenn Parker wanted me on his radio show. I heard from (Hall of Fame defensive end) Deacon (Jones) and Bruce (Smith). Allan Houston called me, Lance Armstrong, I heard from Lance.

"You don't know how many people you have out there that actually watch and pay attention, but I got so many messages from so many friends, past players, and other sports. It was amazing. It has been a great time."

So great that Strahan considers the Giants' inspiring postseason run one of the highlights of his life, in or out of football.

"Without a doubt," he said. "Going through those games and winning those games was probably the most fulfilling professional thing I have ever done and actually was the best time, definitely, of my life. Because there was nothing like that run and I am not just talking about the Super Bowl. If you look at the last two games leading up to it, the Green Bay and the Dallas games, those were, outside of the Super Bowl, two of the most exciting games that I had ever been a part of or ever had seen in the playoffs. To have that type of run that we had, each win was one of the most exciting things that ever happened."

Strahan revealed that he expects to have some input into the design of the Giants' Super Bowl ring. He contacted Coach Tom Coughlin after hearing rumors of what others wanted to include on the ring.

"I heard some of the comments and I was like, 'Uh oh,'" Strahan said. "So I called Coach Coughlin and I said, 'As players, do we have anything to say about the ring?' So I'm going to come in and look at it and at least have some input. Because everybody had great ideas about what they wanted and you don't want to leave it up to somebody else."

Strahan has a definitive idea for the ring he waited a decade-and-a-half to win.

"My whole requirement is this: I want it to be a 10 table," Strahan said. "Do you know what that is? It is so you can see it from at least 10 tables away. That is what I want. I don't want a two table or a one table; I want a 10 table ring. You work hard for this thing. Nobody wants a Super Bowl ring that nobody can see, or they have to say, 'Can you come over here so I can really get a look at it?'"

Whenever he's been out in public since the Super Bowl, Strahan has been approached by fans who want to discuss two subjects. The first is "Stomp them out," which he revealed at a New York City Hall ceremony and is the phrase the Giants yell in their pregame huddles under the goalpost. Strahan then punctuated his declaration with an uncommonly high leap and stomp on the stage as his teammates, city and state dignitaries and fans cheered wildly.

The other subject, of course, is his possible retirement. "That is all I hear - 'You coming back?'" Strahan said.

That answer will take a while to formulate. Strahan can walk off into the sunset as a champion. But he still loves to play, and he doesn't want to take some big plays with him into retirement.

"I haven't had a chance to rest so I am going to take a vacation, relax, and think about what I want to do," he said. "Just get away from football, get away from here. I am going somewhere where nobody cares who I am or what I do or if I am coming back or what. They don't even care about football, so it will be great to just get away and see what my mind says.

"On the other hand, I have so much fun playing and I can still play. So I don't want to sit at home one day and go, 'Man, I can play better than that guy, this guy and that guy.' So I want to make sure I have gotten it all out of my system before I quit. I don't want to retire and cheat myself out of it."