After the 9/11 attacks, the NFL season wasn’t canceled, though the games scheduled for that Sunday were postponed. Later, the New York Giants returned to practice, albeit under different circumstances.

The nation was reeling from what would become the deadliest terrorist attack in modern history. The team organized a drive to deliver supplies to first responders at Ground Zero. At the site, the team spoke with the relief workers, offering them a mental break from the trauma of sifting through the rubble and tragically finding the remains of those who did not make it.

One voicemail that moved the team came from Giants fan Tony Sichenzio, who wanted to let the team and organization know that he’s alive because of his fandom and that his children still have their dad because of the New York Giants. Sichenzio was a bond trader who worked on the 104th floor of the north tower of the World Trade Center. He didn’t go to work on 9/11 because he had been in Denver, Colorado, the day before for the Giants game against the Denver Broncos. Sichenzio left this message for then-general manager Ernie Accorsi. 

Given the totality of the moment, there was no way New York could lose to the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead on the 23rd. Accorsi noted that this was probably the game when he felt the most pressure to win. Overall, it wasn’t the prettiest game, but Big Blue ground out a 13-3 win. It led to the memorable shot of the team posing in the locker room, wearing FDNY and NYPD hats. It still chokes up Jason Garrett, who was the Giants' backup quarterback at the time, when he talks about that win. 

Recommended
How JD Vance Responded to This Heckler at the GOP Midterm Convention Was Hilarious Matt Vespa Here's the Tweet That Shut Down This Snotty Post About the 9/11 Attacks Matt Vespa

The late Jim Fassel, then-head coach for the Giants, hung that photo front and center proudly in the trophy case. 

The Giants and the Cowboys play on Sunday Night Football this weekend, which will have a 9/11 tribute before kickoff (via NY Post):

Members of the NYPD, FDNY and PAPD, as well as family members of 9/11 victims, will be part of a wide-ranging and emotional pregame ceremony before the Giants-Cowboys primetime game. 

New York City first responders will form a gauntlet for the team to run through during pregame introductions at MetLife Stadium, as a weekend of honoring those who lost their lives 25 years ago in the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, reaches the “Sunday Night Football” audience.

Players and coaches from both teams will wear commemorative NYPD, FDNY and PAPD apparel and “Never Forget” T-shirts during warmups. A limited number of hats will be available in the team store on game day, with proceeds benefiting the respective first-responder agencies. 

Ladder 343 — a ceremonial FDNY fire truck named to honor the 343 members of the FDNY who lost their lives on 9/11 — will welcome the crowd. The Tunnel to Towers Foundation will conclude its “Steel Across America” tour by displaying a steel beam from the World Trade Center outside the stadium gates. 

Jesse Armstead, Tiki Barber, Kerry Collins and Jason Sehorn — all of whom were members of the 2001 Giants team that landed at Newark airport just a few hours before the hijackings — will join uniformed first responders in a “Go Big Blue” chant before kickoff.

Never Forget.