Back from San Fran, Giants Fans Plot Super Bowl Trip

Fresh off a red-eye flight from San Francisco, where they cheered the Giants on to victory over the 49ers in the N.F.C. Championship game Sunday, Rich and Mike Maglione were back home in Long Beach Monday looking to score tickets to Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis on Feb. 5.

So, once again, the brothers called into the Boomer & Carton radio show. And former NFL quarterback and East Islip native Boomer Esiason, who hosts the popular morning show with Craig Carton on WFAN 660AM, gave the brothers, now regular callers and visitors to the show, some hope.

“Alright, listen, I’m going to try to help you guys out,” Esiason told the brothers Monday. “I know you guys are New Yorkers, so listen to what I say: I’m going to try to help you out … And I know my buddy, Lee, is listening to me right now and going ‘Oh, my God!’ Lee, get it done. Let’s see if we can get the boys into the stadium.”

“You’re the man, Boom,” Mike said over the phone.

After the Magliones travelled with their two friends completely on their own dime to Green Bay and watched Big Blue defeat the Packers in a divisional playoff game at Lambeau Field two Sundays ago, they searched for someone to help sponsor their trip to San Francisco. They paid a couple of visits to the WFAN studios in Manhattan last week to see if the radio station might offer them an all-expenses-paid trip, just as it sends other listeners who win contests on their shows to the big game. But no such offer was forthcoming.

Instead, they found sponsors, Minnesota’s restaurant-bar in Long Beach and Undertone, an online advertising agency where Rich works, who gave them a collective $3,500 to travel to San Francisco with their friend Jonathan Kadoch. The trade off is that the trio would promote their businesses while on the Boomer & Carton show, which they did when they stopped by last Friday.

“Definitely, San Francisco was the most nerve-racking sporting event I've ever been a part of,” Rich said about sitting in the upper level at Candlestick Park yesterday. “The place was shaking; it was so loud. San Francisco fans love their 49ers and were definitely louder than Green Bay. The energy was insane.”

Now they want to experience the energy of a Super Bowl game. At least today, with less than two weeks before the game and knowing Esiason's offer is not a guarantee, the Magliones believe they have a 50/50 chance to cheer wildly in Lucas Oil Stadium where the Giants will line up against the New England Patriots, a rematch of Super Bowl XLII four years ago.

“Tickets are real expensive,” Rich said, “but we will try to get sponsored again, especially since we can get even more exposure for our sponsors being at the biggest media event of the year.”