Hakeem Nicks Not Totally Ready To Predict 'Pain!' For 49ers
NEW YORK (WFAN) -- What Sports Illustrated cover jinx?
Giants wide receiver Hakeem Nicks doesn't buy into it. And that's a good thing, considering his Hail Mary catch against the Green Bay Packers is on the front of this week's SI.
David Tyree was the last Giants player to grace the magazine's cover back in 2008. Tyree didn't snap the curse. In fact, he never played another snap for New York after the Aug. 4 issue hit newsstands.
"I don't think I'm gonna be jinxed," Nicks told Boomer & Carton on Thursday. "I don't believe in that."
Listen: Nicks with Boomer & Carton
Nicks and the Giants certainly believe in themselves, though. Tom Coughlin's team has been unusually mouthy heading into the NFC Championship game at San Francisco.
"I don't think we've been talking a lot of smack," Nicks said. "I think we're just confident in what we're doing right now. We believe in what we're doing as a team and we feel like we can get the job done."
The 24-year-old wouldn't give a prediction for Sunday's matchup against the 49ers. Carton thought maybe a little role-playing would help Nicks unleash his inner Clubber Lang.
Lang, played by Mr. T, famously predicted "Pain!" for Rocky Balboa in "Rocky III."
Nicks wanted no part of it. "I just feel like we're going to come out confident," he argued.
After much debate, the wideout finally relented -- but he made it clear the line shouldn't be credited to Hakeem Nicks.
Said Clubber Nicks: "Prediction? Pain!"
Or was it Hakeem Lang?
In any case, Nicks is looking forward to the next stop on the Giants' revenge tour.
"After that game, I remember we didn't hold our head down," he said of New York's 27-20 loss at San Francisco in Week 10. "We were confident that we would see them again, and now this is our opportunity."
Nicks wasn't completely ready to predict "Pain!" for the 49ers. Are you? Sound off below...
