Fans and players immerse themselves to the fullest during the Super Bowl games. When their team wins, the cheers and celebrations go beyond the stadium’s vicinity. And a loss creates an equivalent heartbreak that even forces tears from fans and players.

Michael Strahan, who was on the New York Giants team that was thrashed 34-7 by the Baltimore Ravens in Super Bowl XXXV, however, kept his emotions at bay.

“I didn’t cry, man,” the former Giants defensive end said on the Hustle Like You’re Broke Podcast. “I got mad. I just wanted to get back to the next one.”

Strahan’s comment came after show guests Wallo Peeples and Gille da Kid from the Million Dollaz Worth of Game podcast spoke about the latter’s reaction to the Eagles losing their Super Bowl matchup.  

It prompted da Kid to ask if nobody in New York cried because of the defeat. Of course, there were a few guys who shed some tears, Strahan admitted. But he wasn’t one of them.

“It meant a lot to me,” Strahan added. “But what was crying going to do? Wasn’t going to save it. I’ll be honest with you. Super Bowls happen so fast, you don’t even realize till it’s too late.”

Former head coach Jim Fassel and former GM Ernie Accorsi, however, haven’t shied away from delivering their honest takes on that loss.

“So many people came up and thanked me for helping get the team into the 2001 Super Bowl,” Fassel told The Athletic. “They said they really enjoyed that season. And that made me feel good, but it kind of hurt, too, because I wish we had won. You don’t get over some losses.”

Accorsi, who spent 35 years as the Giants’ GM, told the publication that the loss still “irritates” him.

The Giants entered the postseason with a 12-4 record. In the NFC Championship, they shut out the Minnesota Vikings 41-0. However, they were humbled by the Ravens in the Super Bowl.

Strahan’s day came in the 2007 season, marking the second time he went to the Super Bowl. The Giants defeated the New England Patriots 17-14. And the win came even though he entered the field without a winning mindset. 

“Had we lost… I think because I experienced losing one before and then the next year not even making it, I probably would have said that was it,” Strahan told Patrick McEnroe on The Mac Daddy Show. “That was as close as I was just going to get in my career. And I came back that year not to win the Super Bowl, to be honest with you. I came back that year to have fun.” 

In his Hall of Fame induction speech, Strahan even recalled asking his Super Bowl-winning team to calm themselves down before the game, because he’s been on the other side.

“I’m telling the guys, ‘Calm down. I’ve been in the Super Bowl and we lost. Just relax, have a good time, enjoy yourself but stay focused.'”

The Giants were the clear underdogs in the game. They were facing a side that was 18-0 entering the Super Bowl, and the defense was going to face off against Tom Brady, who was in his prime. Strahan added that Osi Umenyiora came up to him and said that if they didn’t get to Brady, they wouldn’t win.

“We couldn’t beat an 18-0 team, we barely made it to the playoffs. It was improbable but it was not impossible. So, not only did we win – we stomped them out.”

The Tom Brady they were so worried about was sacked five times that night.

That matchup happened to be Strahan’s final, as he retired after the 2007 season. In the 15 years he played, he recorded 854 tackles, 23 forced fumbles, and 141.5 sacks, making him one of the well-known defensive ends of the late 1990s and early 2000s. These numbers even got him seven Pro Bowl selections and six All-Pro nods. Strahan was also the 2001 NFL Defensive Player of the Year.

Strahan’s refusal to cry over the Giants’ devastating Super Bowl XXXV loss highlights his understanding of the game. His love for football further pushed him to enjoy the game even if the Giants couldn’t win. But in the end, he finished his career with a Lombardi-hoisting ending.