Giants RB Saquon Barkley’s dad to wear Jets gear for crosstown matchup
Saquon Barkley’s dad will be in the stands on Sunday at MetLife Stadium, cheering him on.
He just won’t be wearing any Giants gear.
Alibay Barkley is a die-hard Jets fan, and even has their tattoo on his forearm. While Sunday’s matchup between the Jets and the Giants will put him in a tough position — given that his son is the Giants’ star running back — Alibay is going to be sticking to his roots.
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“If you ever met my dad, know my dad, he’s been a Jets fan his whole life,” Saquon said, via ESPN. “So is he going to root for the Jets? Yes, but he’s going to root for the Giants and his son at the same time.
“So he gets the best of both worlds, watching his team that he grew up rooting for and gets to watch his son live his dream.”
Saquon — who the Giants selected with the No. 2 overall pick of the 2018 draft — hasn’t yet taken on the Jets during his NFL career, having sat out of the two preseason games between the two New York teams. His production has gone down of late, too, having failed to put up more than 72 yards in his last four outings. The former Penn State standout had just 28 yards on 14 carries in their 37-18 loss to the Dallas Cowboys last week.
Yet Sunday provides an opportunity for him to right the ship, as both teams have just three wins between them and are each struggling in their own right.
Even though his dad won’t look like a Giants fan when he takes the field — Alibay is planning to wear a Jets Joe Namath jersey instead — Saquon knows the moment is going to be a special one for his family.
After all, he was raised a Jets fan, too.
“I think what he said is he’s probably going to wear a Jets jersey,” Barkley said, via ESPN. “That is going to be an interesting one. I give it to him, because it’s a Joe Namath jersey. I think I got him that jersey actually, the Joe Namath one.
“At the end of the day, I knew this situation was going to come up. But I’m happy for him. I was a Jets fan growing up, too, so it’s fun. It’s going to be a little fun competition in the Barkley household.”
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