On Thursday night at The Theater at Madison Square Garden, thousands gathered for a historic event — New York Giants 100: A Night with Legends.
Celebrating their 100th season, the Giants welcome home many of their all-time greats, from Bill Parcells to Tom Coughlin and from Phil Simms to Eli Manning. Also in attendance was Lawrence Taylor, widely considered the greatest defensive player in NFL history.
Before taking the stage, Taylor had a moment to catch up with current Giants linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux. Unsurprisingly, that exchange resulted in some classic LT commentary and a great line from Thibs about filling Taylor’s shoes.
Best moment of night so far from @kayvont at #Giants100: A Night with Legends @LT_56 @CarlBanksGIII @OsiUmenyiora @michaelstrahan pic.twitter.com/AElK4S33e8
— Art Stapleton (@art_stapleton) June 20, 2024
“I mean, (there’s) LT back there, man. Just him, Michael Strahan, Carl Banks, Osi Umenyiora. We’re talking about legends,” Thibodeaux said. “When you have a guy like LT, right? We just kind of exchanged in the back and he’s like, ‘Man, how many sacks did you have last year?’ And I’m like, ‘I had 11.5. Pretty good.’ He’s like, ‘What’d you play? Three games?'”
Thibodeaux got a laugh out of Taylor but the tongue-in-cheek comment also hit home.
“When you’ve got those shoes to fill, you have no choice but to be great,” Thibodeaux said. “I’ve got the greatest guys to look up to. Now I just continue to set goals and accomplish them.”
Thibodeaux is on his way to becoming an elite player in the NFL but he’s still a long way off from Taylor status. However, with the GOAT motivating him and Thibodeaux continuing to set his internal standard higher, the sky is very much the limit.
