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WESTPORT, Conn. Giants fans and Patriots fans alike gathered in the same place for some pre-Super Bowl festivities at the Westport Senior Center.
For three friends, it was all about the Patriots. If New England loses the game Sunday night, Josh Rubinstein, 10, said he would smash the TV and kick all the Giants fans out of his house.
His friends Matt Caruso, 11, and Mike Swan, 10, said they would also be sad, though Mike said he would encourage (the Patriots) to try again next year. Matt, who has been a Patriots fan forever, said, But it wont happen.
The kids were part of the crowd gathered at the center's sixth annual tailgate party on Sunday. At another table, it was friends before football, with Laura and Stanley Bryk and Jean and Paul Schiavone cheering for opposing teams.
The Byrks have been Giants fans since before they were married. And if New York loses, I move out of the house for a few days, Laura said. The Schiavones moved to Westport from Boston. Paul remembers when the Patriots were the Boston Patriots, and both of them strong Patriots fans.
Jean jokingly said that if the Giants win, she and her husband would never speak to their friends again.
But the event wasnt all about rivalries, though the room seemed split when asked. The Staples High Cheerleaders performed a few cheers, as did the Westport PAL cheerleaders.
The event is a way for Karen Solicito to get her daughters to participate in the community. Her family isnt big into football, and she admitted they would be watching a Harry Potter movie during the Super Bowl. But her daughter Tessa said she was cheering for the Giants.
Paul Gordons house is split. His wife Sheri and daughter Chloe, 3, are Giants fans; his son Max is a Patriots fan. By default Gordon is a Patriots fan although he usually cheers for the 49ers.
What will happen at the end of the game? I dont want to know, he said.
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