Feeling Super yet?

We have to ask: Giants or Patriots?

A friend who has spent years rooting defiantly against the New York Giants just called to say he will be spending Sunday night rooting for ... the Giants.

That seems to be the prevailing attitude approaching the big game. Unless you're a diehard fan of the New England Patriots, it's likely you'll be pulling for the Giants — maybe you would have pulled for anybody — to spoil the Pats' perfect season.

Now my friend does carry some baggage. It was the Giants who beat his team, the Buffalo Bills, in Super Bowl XXV in Tampa. He hasn't forgotten. But he also hasn't forgotten that the Patriots are in the Bills' division, and it hasn't been a pretty rivalry in recent years as the Pats have pretty much dominated the action. They're just, well, too perfect.

My friend isn't alone. Far from it. People just don't seem to like the Patriots. You've probably heard the grumbling: Their coach is an arrogant slob. Their quarterback is a pretty boy. They're cheaters -- they got caught spying on another team this season.

In Florida, of course, there's a legion of Dolphins fans who want the Pats to go down, which would allow the '72 Dolphins to remain the only unbeaten NFL team in modern history.

I have no rooting interest. I'd just like to see a good game, so if the Patriots — who are almost two touchdown favorites — get a big lead early, I'll probably switch it off. Forget the commercials. Forget Tom Petty at halftime. Well, maybe I'll stick around for Tom Petty. Like the Patriots, he seems like a sure bet.

Jim