I WAS AN "ACCIDENTAL SPECTATOR" AT SUPER BOWL XLII"

Born in Syracuse, raised in Philly, moved to California by the Air Force, and settled in Sacramento. All that travel will shake up your team passions as much as any franchise relocation or free agency dealing will. Ten days before Super Bowl XLII, I figured I would be watching the game on television like millions of other fans...until my wife casually announced at the dinner table that her boss was a New York Giants season ticket holder and lottery selected fan. He also had just undergone knee replacement surgery and debated for days over whether to exercise his purchase rights. I had about 48 hours to make some quick decisions, legally transfer the rights, come up with $1400 bucks. enlist my cousin from Middletown, New York to haul **** to the Meadowlands in freezing cold to get two tickets, and then figure out how to land a third ticket in the brutal and sometimes corrupt online marketplace. Over a ten day period, I also reflected on the roots of my own sports passion and the state of a nation. The result was a labor of love that retraced childhood memories, brushes with fame, joy, and tragedy, and encounters with some of the most diehard fans you'll ever meet. If you've read this far, thank you and I hope you'll welcome me into your group and consider visiting www.MakingTheBigGame.com - Jeffrey Fekete, Sacramento, CA