Umberto’s Makes a Giants Delivery

Even pro-athletes like their pizza.

Ever since the 2007 season, the New York Giants have been having a pizza party on Fridays and in New Hyde Park has been providing the pies.

According to the Wall Street Journal, “For five seasons now, Fridays are pizza Fridays in the Giants equipment room, courtesy of Rich Salgado and Umberto's Pizzeria and Restaurant on Long Island.”

Salgado, a customer of Umberto’s since the age of nine, is currently founder and CEO of Coastal Advisors LLC, providing insurance to professional athletes. When he took former Giants DE Michael Strahan to the New Hyde Park restaurant:

Strahan loved the pizza so much that Salgado decided back in 2007 he ought to bring it to the facility on Fridays for the equipment staff.

The Giants offensive linemen, then almost all clients of Salgado and whose lockers were closest to the equipment room, starting helping themselves, too. Soon, a custom was born. Invitations are discreet, linemen are welcome…

Several members of the team have also been known to sneak into the equipment room sneaking a slice of the pie before they are spotted. A number of Giants players have also been spotted at the two-story dining hall recently, including  defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul, defensive tackle Linval Joseph, Justin Tuck is reportedly a regular and even co-owner Steve Tisch has come to Umberto’s for a slice.

With less than a week to go before Super Bowl XLVI, that doesn’t mean that members of Big Blue will have to go without pizza this Friday as Umberto’s routinely sends pies across the country, partially cooking them before being freeze-dried and shipped out to Indianapolis in time for the championship rematch against the Patriots.