Yellow Jackets in the Super Bowl

I live in the sun-baked south, miles from either team from those snowy climes vying for the 42nd Lombardi Trophy on Sunday evening. Normally, plezWorld is checking out the blowout game to see the interesting commercials, get my very last fix of real football until August, and snooze through the halftime show.

This year's game will host a number of interesting subplots: will Eli Manning finally come back to earth from his lofty play of the last five weeks? will Randy Moss go for 200 yards and 4 touchdowns? will prettyboy quarterback Tom Brady score more than 17 points (see Plaxico Burress)? will the Patriots win the final game of an undefeated season? or will they finally collapse under the weight of such a lofty goal? will three Georgia Tech alums walk away from the game with 3 Super Bowl rings?

Say what?!? Yeah, you read that correctly... there are three Georgia Tech alums who will be playing on Sunday evening for the New York Football Giants: third-year safety James Butler, second-year linebacker Gerris Wilkinson, and my frat brother rookie tight end Michael (Big Mike) Matthews (a 2004 initiate of the Lambda Delta of Kappa Alpha Psi). All three have contributed to the Giants being in the Big Game: Butler is the Giants' fifth-leading tackler, despite missing three games in 2007. He has 58 total tackles, 42 solo tackles, one interception and one fumble recovery. Wilkinson played in 13 regular season games and saw significant action on special teams. Matthews played in all 16 games mainly in run support, but he also has six receptions on the season for 28 yards.

Super Bowl Photo courtesy of NY Giants Photo
From left to right: Michael Matthews, James Butler, and Gerris Wilkinson.

So you can say that this game has gotten personal for me. As much as I would like to see a successful end to the Patriots historic run this season, my heart goes with my fellow Yellow Jackets and my frat. It also doesn't hurt, that I grew up in New York as a Giants fan!

GO GIANTS!