 The Jets' success in signing Namath and the rise of the team in the standings adversely affected their crosstown rivals, the Giants, who had played in five NFL championship games in six years to 1963, but who thereafter declined in the standings.Giants owner Wellington Mara stated, "I think the Jets coming in when they did contributed to our bad years, because we tried to do everything for the short term rather than the long haul—we'd trade a draft choice for a player, figuring he'd give us one or two good years.We didn't want to accept how the public might react if we had a bad year or two or three."