INSIDE FOOTBALL: WHO WE ARE

INSIDE FOOTBALL, a member of the Professional Football Writers Association, is a publication that has covered the New York Football Giants for over 30 years. We first began providing our readers with an analytical approach that daily newspapers simply don't have the time, space or expertise to provide. In recent years, as a service to its readers as well as the Internet community, INSIDE FOOTBALL has expanded to provide free updates and to move all nonessential, common information, e.g. rosters, stats, etc. to its web site, allowing more space for the coverage that one is hard pressed to find elsewhere.

Whereas the typical daily newspaper allows 500 - 1,000 words of Giants coverage on any given day, INSIDE FOOTBALL features approximately 10,000 words strictly devoted to the Giants in its subscription products.

INSIDE FOOTBALL is neither sponsored by, nor affiliated with the New York Football Giants, National Football League, or its member franchises. We are not the same publication as Giant Insider, owned by American Sports Media.

INSIDE FOOTBALL is for the serious Giants fan who wants something more than the same stories and quotes in the daily papers. It is a publication for the fan who is seeking an in-depth, analytical view of the players and team, such as why a player is struggling or is doing well. It is for the Giants fan who is looking for something different, who is looking for a fair, objective view point of how things really are, and how they could be. It is for the fan who wants an authoritative and objective information source who is present at games and practices, and who talks to the people who are the headlines of today and tomorrow. INSIDE FOOTBALL subscribers include NFL scouts, NFL clubs and executives, along with some members of the media. Our primary subscriber base, however, is the Giants fan. Because of the wide variety of subscriber interests, INSIDE FOOTBALL has been hailed as an objective information source and has been applauded for its unique, in-depth coverage.

Read some testimonials from our subscribers and see for yourself why sophisticated Giants fans make Inside Football their top source for information about the team.

INSIDE FOOTBALL takes its level of coverage much further than the typical fan-based web site. This is our business, whereas most of the fan web sites are someone's hobby. We know the importance of keeping our finger on the pulse of the team, and so we have staff members at the practices, the press conferences, at the games, in the locker room and meeting with key management.

We spend the extra time reviewing game tapes in order to ensure the accuracy of our analysis, and we seek out the exclusives because we don't want our readers paying for something that is available elsewhere.Whereas most daily newspapers don't have the space — or in some cases the expertise — to provide readers with the X's and O's of the game, INSIDE FOOTBALL does.

Our practice has always been to reach a fair conclusion based on what we see for ourselves and what we hear from those close to the situation. We have found this philosophy to be essential to our lengthy success and our remarkable growth which includes an average renewal rate of over 90% ever year.

We also limit the amount of "space fillers" we use. Whereas our competition will fill its pages with information found everywhere, we devote every available inch to content. In addition, we offer a money back guarantee. If you're not happy with the service we provide, tell us and we'll either fix the problem or refund you the unused portion of your subscription fee -- no questions asked.

Adam Epstein, Owner/Publisher
As the son of a die-hard Giants fan who once attended games at the Polo Grounds, it is no wonder that Adam Epstein ended up finding a way to stay close to the team. As a child, Adam devoted his Sundays watching games with his father and brothers in his family’s home library on a 20” television. To Adam, there was no better way to spend quality time with his family than to watch their beloved New York Giants together.

After completing college and working a variety of jobs, Adam joined his family business in food and condiment manufacturing and container distribution. While the company offered a very fulfilling career to Adam, something was still missing. That something was Inside Football; a publication that had been around for over 30 years and one for which Adam had done volunteer work one summer as a youth growing up in New York.

In 1998 Adam fully recognized his dream when he became the owner and publisher of Inside Football, the longest running independent publication devoted to exclusive coverage of the New York Giants.

He immediately put together a staff consisting of editor Patricia Traina, previously a staff writer under the former management; senior analyst Mike Iannaconi, whose history with the publication stemmed back to the 1980s; and senior analyst Bob Folger, who also wrote for the publication prior to the change in ownership.

With the staff in place, Adam’s focus shifted to improving the newsletter’s appearance and delivering more timely content via the internet. He was instrumental in the design of a new logo for the publication’s masthead and implemented photography into the overall presentation for the first time in the publication’s lengthy history.

Adam currently consults with his editor on a weekly basis and puts most of his focus on helping Inside Football evolve into the best independent information source covering New York Giants football.

Adam has a B.S. in Psychology from Union College. He also serves as the Learning Chair of Entrepreneurs Organization, a group devoted to engaging leading entrepreneurs to learn and grow. He lives in Westport, CT with his wife and two daughters.

Patricia Traina, Editor
From an early age, Patricia Traina knew she wanted to become a sports writer. Her journey to become one of the first female sports writers to regularly cover the New York Giants began thanks to her father, Al, a long-time Giants season ticket holder and avid fan.

Patti’s earliest memory of Giants football started at the tail end of the dark period known to Giants fans as the “15 Years of Lousy Football.” Although her earliest memory is the game known as the “Fumble,” her interest in Giants football increased with the new era ushered in by George Young and Phil Simms. Before too long, Patti knew exactly what she wanted to be when she grew up.

She began her training by writing for Rutgers University’s Daily Targum, where she covered football, baseball, tennis and every sport in between. After graduation, Patti went to work in the advertising/marketing industry. She also worked part-time at several unpaid sports writing positions, including as a volunteer columnist for Giants Extra and as a contributor of AOL’s pro football forum, where she founded and built a successful “e-zine” entitled The Gridiron Gazette.

It was a routine “Letter to the Editor” which really launched Patti’s sports writing career. Having discovered the uniqueness of Inside Football, she contacted the founding editor after reading of his interest in developing an official web site for the publication. That letter led to Patti being hired on a per diem basis as a contributing feature writer and web master for Inside Football’s new web site, www.insidefootball.com.

When the paper was sold to its current ownership in 1997, Patti was promoted to Executive Editor where she heads up each issue’s production and carries on the fine tradition of “Letters to the Editor.” Since her promotion, Patti has spent a lot of time learning the finer points of the game by studying film, interviewing key personnel and doing tons of research to gain the best possible understanding of player evaluation.

Known for her affable personality, Patti is often warmly greeted by name by the players, coaches and front office personnel as well as fellow media colleagues. She has also developed numerous working relationships around the NFL and has tapped into this vast network of knowledge to deliver exclusive insight to her readers that cannot be found anywhere else. Patti earned her B.A. degree in English literature with a minor in creative writing from Rutgers University. She also earned a M.A. in Corporate and Organizational Communication with an emphasis in public relations and advertising from Fairleigh Dickinson University. Patti is a member of the Professional Football Writers Association.

Mike Iannaconi, Senior Analyst
Mike Iannaconi’s earliest memories of Giants football include making the long trip to the Yale Bowl to attend home games. Choosing Pace University for his undergraduate studies, he found himself at the same place as the Giants’ summer training camp at the time. It was there he met the founding editor/publisher of Inside Football, who despite not being overly impressed with Mike’s football skills, thought he had a future in writing given the fact he had a keen eye for the game. At that moment, Mike traded his helmet for a pen and paper to begin his career with Inside Football.

Mike has seen it all during his odyssey covering the Giants. He has covered all three Giant Super Bowls; he has lived through the Ray Handley era; and he survived the roller coaster ride of Jim Fassel’s regime. He has also had the opportunity to be up close and personal with many Giant greats including Phil Simms, Harry Carson, Tiki Barber, Michael Strahan and Lawrence Taylor just to name a few. With current Giants head coach Tom Coughlin now firmly established as the Giants’ leader, Mike feels that this era is a throwback to the “glory days” of the 1980’s when the Giants were on the brink of a return to prosperity.

Since joining the Inside Football staff, Mike has provided his expertise in covering the action in the secondary (wide receivers, tight ends and defensive backs). He applies his knowledge of the game going beyond a simple throw and catch of a pass; Mike will break down what an observer will see on TV. Mike will go inside the play and describe how and why the play’s outcome developed. He also shares his expertise in evaluating the individual match ups, a critical area of analysis given that each play consists of many individual battles.

In 2006, Mike added a new area of responsibility to his weekly repertoire concerning game strategy. He contributes to the pre-game write up, outlining keys of the game and highlighting the key match-ups. After the game, his “I on Strategy” column looks at how the game plan unfolded and affects the final score.

Given Mike’s long history with Inside Football, he remains as excited as a rookie for each new season. Whether he is trying to determine which young hopefuls have the best chance of making the final 53-man roster or anticipating how the Giants defense might plan their strategy in the first round of the playoffs, Mike finds every nuance of this game fascinating.

Mike earned a B.A. in Accounting from Pace University and went on to become a CPA. He and his wife Jennifer have been married over 13 years and have two children, Emily and Michael.

Bob Folger, Senior Analyst
As Senior Analyst for Inside Football for the past 11 years, and a New York Giants fan for more than 50 years, Bob Folger has developed a keen sense of not only what NFL teams need to be successful, but also what New York Giants fans want to know about their team.

Bob has developed a reputation for delivering insightful analyses of game strategies, positional breakdowns, and game-day player performance. Over the years, Bob’s primary focus has been on the play in “the trenches,” the area of the field where traditionally most games are won or lost. Bob has also learned to recognize the importance of every unit of the team, expanding his focus to include written analyses of the special teams, the offensive backfield, the tight ends, and the linebacking corps.

Bob’s affinity for film study is perhaps his greatest resource. His ability to recognize and interpret the subtleties of the game has earned him a reputation for the “less obvious.” Bob believes that there is a reason for everything that happens on the field, and prefers to eschew the “knee-jerk” for a more balanced reaction to what he sees. His writing style reflects a mix of level-headedness and impatience. In his reports, he identifies the performances of the under-achievers as well as the over-achievers. Though he is a passionate fan of the New York Giants, Bob also tries to be a fair-minded observer.

Whether it’s Opening Day or Game #16 of a lost season, Bob still gets excited as each kickoff approaches. He not only enjoys the spirit of the competition, but he revels in each game’s unpredictability. Bob’s passion for game day, the New York Giants, and the league in which the team competes, is reflected in the intense, no-nonsense tone of his game reports. His reports attempt to share the intensity of his game experiences with the fan.

Bob received his B.A. from Jersey City State College in Special Education. Bob has been married for 25 years to a woman he considers a “saint”, and is the father of two children, both of whom are Giants fans. They really had no choice.

Q. Is Inside Football an accredited media organization?
A. Yes. We receive full accreditation from the New York Giants which allows our staff access to practices, team personnel and coaches. We also receive the same editorial material as the daily sports writers who are assigned to cover the team and we receive accreditation to related NFL events such as the Draft and the Super Bowl. Our writers have participated in radio and television round table programs and contributed to other publications.

Q. How can I write/take pictures for Inside Football?
A. Inside Football currently has no openings for staff writers or photographers. Fans are invited to express their opinions about the Giants through our Letters to the Editor page. Please note that any material submitted to us becomes our property and we reserve the right to use it as part of our editorial content as the editor sees fit.

Q. How did Inside Football get started?
A. Inside Football was founded over 30 years ago by a man who recognized a need for a special blend of Giants coverage that was not available in the daily newspapers. He created Inside Football in order to give readers content they couldn’t find anywhere else. Today Inside Football is the longest running, independent publication covering the New York Giants.

Q. What makes Inside Football different from the numerous internet sites and publications out there that are run by Giants diehards?
A. For starters, we are not a site that is run by fans; we are a professionally accredited media organization granted access to NFL events and locker rooms. That aside, despite the advent of the Internet, Inside Football continues to deliver information that others can’t or won’t provide.

We staff both home and away games. We attend practices, press conferences and other regularly scheduled media events. We have access to resources not typically available to fan-based web sites. And we are members of the Professional Football Writers of America. We take our publication very seriously, and strive to deliver something that our readers will want to have as part of their Giants reading literature.

Q. How can I contact someone on the Inside Football staff?
A. You can send your letter to the person’s attention c/o Inside Football, P.O. Box 6434, Edison, NJ 08818-6434. You can also e-mail the person by putting their name in the subject line, e.g. ATTN: PAT, and sending the e-mail to admin@insidefootball.com. We regret that our editorial staff is not available by telephone given their respective schedules.

Q. How can I subscribe to Inside Football?
A. For 24/7 ordering access via a secured server, visit our online subscription shop. Inside Football accepts Visa, Mastercard, Amex and Discover.

Q. I need to speak to someone about my subscription. What’s the best time to call?
A. Our office staff hours vary each day during the season and off-season. You can basically call at any time and if we’re not available to answer your call, we have 24/7 private voice mail. We typically return all calls within one business day, and will even return calls in the evening and on weekends if time permits. We strongly encourage people needing to contact us to utilize e-mail as we’re constantly checking and replying to e-mail late at night!