Walking out onto the Giants Stadium field, firefighters, Police officers and relatives of September 11 victims carried an enormous Stars and Stripes ? and received a standing ovation.

Being in New York on the fourth anniversary of the terrorist attack was an emotional occasion for all the 80,000-plus at the game, and that certainly included the players.

The minute?s silence before the 2005 season kicked off was impeccably observed, the powerfully-sung anthem stirred emotion ? and some tears ? from players, fans and those in the Press box and the importance was not lost on the Giants head coach.

?There was definitely no way were going to lose a game on this day in this great city,? said a fired up Tom Coughlin in the post-match Press conference.

?We talked about 9/11 on Friday and Saturday and before the game. We have been talking about it all week.

?We talked about this great city, about 9/11, the right way for this organisation to go about representing this city. There was no way in hell we were going to lose.?

This was a view shared by Tiki Barber, the Giants all-time rushing leader and one of the many players who helped give out supplies to rescue workers at Ground Zero following the attacks in 2001.

?A lot of what we did out there had to do with the coach?s belief that this organisation represents this city,? he said after his 62-yard performance.

?We played with the kind of pride New Yorkers have.?

And all of the emotion was also not lost on Antonio Pierce.

?We all know what the game meant to New Yorkers,? he said, addressing a question nearly every player was asked by the frenzied media buzzing around the cavernous Giants locker room.

?It was emotional for everyone, it was a game we had to win for the fans and for the city.

?I was at Washington at the time and that was another city that was affected. You never forget those sort of things or what it means to people.?