Column: Superfans Without A Team To Cheer For Have A Reason To Watch On Sunday

This stinks. The New England Patriots and the New York Giants are in the Super Bowl—again. And here I am, a New York Jets fan, not sure who in the world to root for—again. It was bad enough that I had to deal with this back in 2008. Now the football gods are asking me to do it all over again? Oh, woe is me.

At least in 2008, the Pats had the decency to turn themselves into an unstoppable juggernaut. So when the time came for the coin toss in Glendale, Arizona, I found myself rooting for Big Blue, if only because I didn't want to see Mr. I Refuse to Wear Anything But a Gray Hoodie vault his team into the pantheon of all that is great in professional football.

Long story short: the Pats faltered and I celebrated. But it was a half-hearted celebration. Sort of like the kind you do when you find out you didn't fail a class, you actually "breezed through it" with a D.

Fast forward to Jan. 22. As soon as the Giants and Patriots secured their ticket to Indianapolis for Super Bowl XLVI, I began to think about which result would make for the more meaningful celebration. And to be honest, as a senior in college, with my favorite teams bickering and taking secret pot shots at one another in the media, celebrating as best I can is pretty much priority numero uno.

So which is the lesser of two evils: the obnoxious cross-town rival or the hated Evil Empire of the AFC East? My mind was doing all sorts of weird acrobatics to figure this one out, but not once did the little "thought men" in my head stick the landing. Neither option seemed to make any sense, especially because the Patriots aren't chasing perfection and the memory of the Giants effectively crushing the Jets' playoff hopes in week 16 is still fresh in my mind.

Enter bceagles.com. Thanks to my non-stop perusing of the website (okay, so that may or may not be an exaggeration), I came upon a fun little fact that answered my dilemma for me: the Boston College Eagles are the most represented college football program in Super Bowl XLVI. Between the Patriots and Giants, there are a combined six players who spent their days on the Heights.

The list goes as follows: cornerback Will Blackmon, guard Chris Snee, defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka and linebacker Mark Herzlich all play for the Giants, while defensive end Ron Brace and center Dan Koppen wear Patriots' red, white, and blue. Of course, Giants' head coach Tom Coughlin also served as head coach of the Eagles from 1991 to 1993, and there are a whole host of other connections within the coaching staffs and front offices of both teams.

You might be asking yourselves how this arbitrary fact answers my problem.

Well, it gives this disillusioned and disenchanted Superfan a little bit of hope in an otherwise bad situation. With that said, when I first found out about this, I figured that I would just root for the former Eagles on the field to do well.

But I quickly realized three things. First, both Brace and Koppen will not see the field, so I'd be left rooting for three Giants (Herzlich was inactive for the NFC Championship). Second, it's pretty hard to root for an offensive lineman and a cornerback. What am I supposed to shout, "Good job shedding that receiver block, Blackmon"? Or better yet, "You really pancaked him on that one, Snee"? Third, and by far most importantly, rooting for only three players is lame.

After those realizations, for a time I favored the idea of not watching the game and carrying on with my life as if the 2011 NFL season never happened—just like many Patriots fans I know prefer to do with Super Bowl XLII. But that's foolishness. Not to mention, the sports fan in me protests loudly and obnoxiously any time the thought even grazes my mind. I mean, it's sacrilege to not watch the Super Bowl (my apologies to those who might be offended, but come on, really? You don't watch the Super Bowl? Who are you?).

I knew there had to be an answer somewhere in that little innocuous bceagles.com factoid. I just knew it. And lo and behold, I finally came upon my answer in those rosy (some might say angry, but I prefer happy thoughts) cheeks of Tom Coughlin.

Back in February of 2008, I had yet to start my journey as a Superfan. I had yet to experience the rich tradition started by Doug Flutie. But things are different now. I've braved games in the cold and the rain. I've seen horrible losses and glorious victories. I am a Superfan who respects the BC tradition, and Coughlin—the man who coached Flutie and later returned to coach the team—is undoubtedly a big part of that tradition. After all, the guy beat Notre Dame when they were ranked No. 1 in the country, and he led the Eagles to a 9-3 season in which they wound up nationally ranked. That kind of success, that kind of winning tradition, is something I can respect. It is something I can root for.

Let's go Tom Coughlin! Oh yeah, and I guess, let's go Giants.