Once a brief home to the New York Giants four decades ago, New Haven, Conn., sits near the midway point between East Rutherford and Foxboro.
While still closer to New York, some fans lean to the Giants, and some lean toward the Patriots. Offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride, a native of the city that boasts the Yale Bowl (where the Giants played their home games from 1973-74), returned to his alma mater Monday night along with one of his wide receivers, Hakeem Nicks.
The two spoke at Southern Connecticut State University about the Giants' run to a Super Bowl victory over the New England Patriots.
"It's especially nice to come back when you can bring a Super Bowl trophy with you," said Gilbride, who went to North Haven High School, graduating from Southern in 1974.
"I'm always amazed at how many Giants fans there are," he continued, according to The Hartford Courant. "I'm riding my bike and people are honking their horns. At church I was signing autographs last Sunday… It's a reminder of how fortunate you are more than anything else."
Nicks, in his first trip to the area, then got on stage and fielded questions from the crowd.
"I feel like they welcomed me and embraced me. These are the kinds of thing I like," Nicks said in the article. "If they're excited to see me I'm excited to see them as well."
QUICK HITS>> At a ceremony recognizing the nation's top youth volunteers at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C., each of the 102 State Honorees for 2012 received $1,000 awards as well as personal congratulations from New York Giants quarterback and Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning.
Monday was wide receiver Rueben Randle's 21st birthday and the Giants' second-round draft pick was back in his home state of Louisiana signing autographs before traveling to East Rutherford for rookie minicamp, which begins this weekend. [The NewsStar.com]
*"They (Giants teammates) haven't told me what I'm in for," Randle said Saturday during an autograph signing at Victory Sports in West Monroe. "I'm just going in there blindly. I'm just going to go in there and do what I have to do. I'm not going to worry about anything else."
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