Here's what you need to know:

I was born in the 70's in CT, a state with no real football allegiance - I wasn't for NY or NE at that point, and with no football in my high school I really had no idea what it was all about.

I went to school in Pittsburgh and got a taste of football while I was there. I tailgated at Three Rivers and had a blast with some of the most rabid sports fans in the country. During my years there the Steelers went to the playoffs and lost (Chargers), and they went to the Superbowl and lost (Dallas). The city was depressed. I was a full-fledged football fan.

I remember watching the Pats/Packers Superbowl from my Pittsburgh apartment in 1997; the same year I moved to Boston and got schooled in all things Pats and the Sox. I was hooked. Lucky for me, a handful of years after my arrival the Pats struck Superbowl gold; a few years after that and the Sox answered with rings of their own.

You can thank me later.