Super Happy or Super Bawl

All right West Hartford, it’s time to break out the family Uggs, Snuggies and Huggies, whip up your recipes for chili and crab dip, and program the number of the nearest take-out chicken wings joint into your cell.

In a little over a week, the drama between the Patriots and the Giants will be upon us, a grudge match reignited from the 2008 Super Bowl. This “super sequel,” as the media have dubbed it, is sure to draw a record-breaking audience; but here in town, it will create an acute team loyalty schism insoluble even by the judgment of Solomon.

Traditionally, West Hartford has always been a town divided against itself when it comes to professional sports. Equidistant between New York and Boston, we are the white goop in the geographical Oreo, a middle child whose personality is half older and half younger siblings.

Season after season – from baseball to basketball, hockey, or football – friends, neighbors, schoolchildren, and even some husbands and wives stand on different sides of the aisle, vigorously cheering on their favorite teams. Super Bowl XLVI is no exception to the rule, as Brady and Manning jerseys fly off the shelves of local sports stores in almost equal numbers.

How evenly divided are the Patriots/Giants fans in our town? And what arguments do each side’s proponents make for their team ultimately vanquishing the other?

Not being a huge football fan, I recuse myself from weighing in on these questions. My Giants bent comes strictly from having grown up 15 miles from their stadium and, being the clothes horse that I am, favoring the sartorial splendor of the team’s royal blue, white, and red uniforms over the more dour dark blue, white, and red. I confidently know which shoes to pair with what handbag – but when it comes to sports, I know it’s best to leave these questions to the experts.

At the Sports Authority in Farmington this week, staff members were hard-pressed to decide which team’s paraphernalia was outselling the other. Yet, they did ultimately agree that the store carries more Patriots items, annoying some of the Giants fans who have come into the store.

At on LaSalle Road, the staff is predominately for the Giants. Store manager, Bob Lamb, was confident that the Giants would prevail but he admitted that, in his opinion, “neither team has a defense. It’s going to be all about offense.” Salesperson Matt Cronin concurred with his boss, adding that he thought that the Giant’s perseverance and rapport would lead them to the title. “In the last few weeks they have really had a camaraderie that was seen in the 2008 Super Bowl.”

Local restaurants are preparing for what many owners consider to be the best- case scenario for their bottom lines. At on New Britain Avenue, chef Tim Marotto remarked that on Super Bowl afternoon there will be a heavy emphasis on the bar area. There will be drink specials and appetizers created specifically for the big game.

Marotto, a Patriots fan, will spend most of the day in the kitchen but he will be checking frequently on the status of his team that he believes won’t let its fans down this time. “The fact that the Giants beat them once before – you don’t think they’ll let that happen again.”

Over on Prospect Avenue, Damon’s Tavern, sports bar and restaurant, is also gearing up for what it expects to be a huge influx of customers. West Hartford residents and Damon’s owners, Mary and Paul Butler, opened two years ago so they did not experience the previous Patriots/Giants standoff as business owners.

While acknowledging that most people usually spend the Super Bowl in homes, Paul expects that this year his establishment will be “standing room only.” For the event, Mary and Paul have planned a special food and drink menu as well as various giveaways, including two 42” televisions, NFL merchandise and Damon’s Tavern gift certificates.

And, while Paul states that his clientele’s Patriots/Giants allegiances are split evenly, he will quietly be rooting for the Patriots and fairly confident that they will prevail, citing their “chip on their shoulder” from their humiliating loss of five years ago and their motivation to avenge it.  

Even our politicians are taking a little time from their legislative duties to support their teams. State senator Beth Bye, eschewing any rhetoric, stated succinctly and definitively that choosing the Super Bowl winner was “easy … the Patriots have a smarter coach.”

Back on the home front, I defer to my personal advisor and college sophomore, sports management major progeny. My son, the lone Giants fan in a dorm room of four, is convinced that the Giants' momentum cannot be thwarted. “The Giants beat them in week nine and their defense is stronger now than it was then. The Patriots defense can’t stop an elite quarterback like Eli. If the Giants can beat Green Bay, they can beat New England.”

Legendary quarterback, Joe Namath, said, “When you win, nothing hurts.” It’s safe to say that on February sixth, half of West Hartford’s football fans will, no doubt, be hurtin’ bad.