Giants Fan Makes Impact

Joe Ruback still just loves the Giants.

Now he just gets more attention for it. Many of the people who recognize him don't even know his name. They will call out to Blondie, License Plate Guy or the "Oh my God" guy. There are a few names fans of opposing teams use, too, but not all fit for print.

Whatever nickname is applied to the 41-year-old New City resident, he is easily the most recognizable fan of the New York Giants with his trademark string of license plates hanging from his neck and long, blonde hair.

Ruback often ends up on camera during broadcasts of Giants games. He has become friends with many members of the team and its staff. National media outlets such as USA Today have written about him.

"I feel like I am a part of it, but I'm not getting that New York Giants paycheck," Ruback joked. "It is a passion. The Giants are a passion of mine. It is fun. I'm not a face painter, though I did for Super Bowl. I really am just a fan."

This will be Ruback's seventh consecutive season attending every Giants game, at home and on the road. He has managed to line up front-row seats behind the Giants' bench for every road game. He claims that is part of why he never has problems with opposing fans despite his attention-getting look. In the front row, there is too much security around for things to get out of hand. 

"I don't sit in the boonies," Ruback said. "In Philly, I won't sit in the upper deck where I'll get pummeled."

He also takes a non-confrontational approach, focusing on the game rather than arguing with fans in the stands. 

"People ask if I take crap on the road," Ruback said. "I really don't. I don't cheer backwards. I cheer forward. I don't worry about people calling me names like Fabio or The Wrestler. They kill me. I love it. 

"Don't go into an away stadium and be a jerk," he said. "You can cheer, but not like crazy. Don't get in anybody's way. I'm not obnoxious. I get along with everybody."

Ruback did find himself in an uncomfortable spot last season during the Giants' loss at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. He often has access to the field after games are over. On the way to the field at the end of that contest, the security guard escorting him asked him to stop and wait.

"I'm standing at the 40-yard line with my seven (license) plates on and all Philly fans around me," Ruback said. "People are telling me to get down. One guy is really giving it to me good, telling me to cut my hair. Meanwhile, his is longer than mine behind his cap. I tell him that I bet he is bald underneath it and he was.

"Two weeks later, I take my daughter to a Miley Cyrus concert, and who is two seats away from us but the same guy and his daughter! We shook hands and introduced ourselves. It was hilarious."

Ruback insists that he is not one to scream at players or get out of control while watching a game. Longtime friend Dorian Dattillo, who has attended games with Ruback, backed him up on that.

"You would think he is crazy," Dattillo said. "He's got those license plates. But he's a normal guy. He doesn't go nuts. He's just a regular fan."

He just happens to wear vanity license plates around his neck. They are all actual New York or New Jersey license plates that he has had on cars he owns or owned, starting with a yellow New York plate that reads "G1ants."

"It started at Giants Stadium," Ruback said. "I wore my yellow license plate and they won. I started wearing them ever since. Not all, but most of games, I would wear them."

Then there is the long hair, something that started as a bet. Ruback is the athletic director at Camp Ramaquois in Pomona. One summer, the members of the camp's softball team started talking about growing out their hair. Some of the younger staff members teased Ruback that he couldn't do it.

"They said I'm old and I can't grow hair," Ruback said. "They all ended up donating $100. The Giants saw me and they were like, 'Blondie's back."

Ruback also got some attention from players and fans for his appearance on the highlight video from the Giants' 17-14 victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII. There is a shot of Ruback after a key play late in the game holding his head and clearly mouthing the words, "Oh my God."

Later that year, Ruback attended an autograph signing with another friend, former Giants' running back Joe Morris. One of the heroes of Super Bowl XLII, David Tyree, was among the members of that team in attendance. 

"(Tyree) said, 'Congratulations on making the video," Ruback said. "I told him, 'You too!"

Ruback is particularly close to running back Brandon Jacobs, who recently made news by throwing his helmet into the stands during a loss in Indianapolis. Ruback has over 100 custom-made Giants' jerseys. He refuses to ever wear the same one twice in a season. 

"Of course, I wore my friend's jersey to the Indy game," Ruback said. "The helmet went right over my head. You try telling a section of people he didn't mean it and I had his jersey on. It was not comfortable. But it was an accident. He's such a nice guy. When you are friendly with them, you feel different. It's not like just watching game any more. You know their families and what they have to do to play. I look at the players in a whole different way."

Jacobs and Ruback spend enough time with one another's families that Ruback's 7-year-old daughter, Isabella, is not as interested as other youngsters by his presence. 

"Brandon Jacobs comes to Ramaquois to speak to the kids there," Ruback said. "I leave my post to listen to him speak to the girls side and I can't find Isabella. I ask where she is. The kids could either listen to him speak or go swimming. She told them, "Oh, I know him. I'm going swimming."

Jacobs and other Giants have made a larger impact on students at the Leak and Watts School in Yonkers, where Ruback is the athletic director. The school serves students with emotional and behavioral problems, so anything that can engage them is a positive. 

"The kids love it," Ruback said. "They love the pictures I bring back. It doesn't hurt when I'm friendly with some of the Giants and they come to the school. Brandon Jacobs talked to kid about his rough coming up. The kids learn something from the players I bring in.

"They were in awe to have football players here and it was my pleasure to bring them."

Ruback is quick to point out that the support of his wife, Sarah, is an important part of his ability to continue to follow the Giants on the road. She is from Chicago, so he had a jersey made for her. The front half is a Bears jersey and the back is the Giants.

"Without her support, I would never be able to do this," Ruback said. "She loves the stories. She encourages the away games. She thinks it's incredible and knows it's one of my loves."

Ruback took her to the Giants' victory over the Bears this season. He takes her to one road game every season. 

"She has her choice of any away game," Ruback said. "I tell her to please not choose Dallas, Philly or Washington so she doesn't have to hear the bad things that are said to her husband."

Ruback attributes part of his love for the Giants to being raised as a fan, but it goes beyond that. He is proud of the fact that team's owners, who he greatly respects, will stop to say hello. He tells one story of the team's Super Bowl run.

"Frank Mara, right when game ended, took his jacket off and gave it to me," Ruback said. "He said you're going to need this in Green Bay. I thought, "Wow. We're going to Green Bay!"

Ruback said the Giants' new stadium has been an adjustment after a lifetime of games in the old Giants Stadium.

"It's the Giants' stadium, so I'm going to love it," Ruback said. "But it was weird. I didn't know where my seat was. I didn't know where the bathroom was."

The Giants have already had their share of ups and downs in a 2-2 start, but Ruback is confident heading into tonight's game in Houston.

"I expect another crazy Super Bowl run," Ruback said. "Then again, I always expect that."