The struggling New York Giants seem to be a boon for some businesses, at least according to George Dunner. He’s the sales manager at High Exportion Aerial Advertising, which is based in New Jersey. When the Giants lost their first three games this season, Dunner felt he needed to find a way to stay busy.
Last season, his company flew banners over MetLife Stadium. But recent news seems to have provided some hope for anxious Giants fans. Dunner has been observing the atmosphere around the team closely.
“When I saw Jaxson Dart starting, I thought, ‘Maybe it’s not all bad,'” Dunner mentioned. As it turns out, two planes flew over MetLife Stadium prior to the Giants’ game against the Chargers last Sunday. With Dart making his NFL debut and the excitement from the new manager Brian Dabor, there’s been a buzz among fans, even though frustrations persist.
Dunner was aware of one plane that was hired to carry a critical message about the Giants and noted that another company, Airsign North, had also booked a plane for similar reasons. Although a third plane might make an appearance by Sunday, only two can be in the air over certain areas due to restrictions from Teterboro Airport.
The planes typically cost between $2,000 to $3,000 to rent for about 20-30 minutes. Last season, during a particularly rough stretch where the Giants ended up 3-14, messages criticizing the team were flown over MetLife Stadium multiple weeks in a row. One message read, “Mr. Mara, please fix this dumpster fire.” Dunner recalls seeing that one and finding it hard to digest.
Interestingly, it’s said that co-owner John Mara doesn’t let these flights get to him. Dunner claimed that the plane he rented actually annoyed Mara, but it didn’t explicitly state that Mara should sell the team.
Dunner explained that he was simply urging Mara to make some changes to the team. He added, “If the message had been ‘fire the coach,’ we wouldn’t have flown it. Selling the team? No one’s saying that,” he said, emphasizing a non-committal stance on that topic.
Interestingly, Dunner noted that throughout his 14 years in the industry, he has not once received a request for a positive banner to fly over MetLife Stadium. He reflected, “It seems that negativity always tends to get more attention when people are willing to spend money, kind of like sports talk radio.” It’s a curious observation that suggests, perhaps, that the discontent among fans isn’t just noise; it’s a reflection of genuine concern for their team.
