Friends Watch Giants Win Super Bowl in Indy

From to the Super Bowl.

Jerry Venturino, Dan MacNamara, Kyle Hefferon and Mike Andrikanich—lifelong friends and members of the —traveled to Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis to watch the New York Giants defeat the New England Patriots, 21-17, for their fourth Super Bowl victory Sunday.

"It was definitely a dream come true," Andrikanich said. "It was one of those things we put on a bucket list to see live."

The four left for Indy midnight Saturday and, after napping a few hours, soaked in the city the rest of the day. Venturino, a Hopatcong fourth-grade teacher, said among the trip's highlights was hanging out in the Super Bowl Village, which organizers said drew more than 1 million visitors throughout the week.

Though the weather wasn't ideal—chilly, rainy—the friends enjoyed the atmosphere, participating in NFL festivities and chatting up celebrities such as rapper Ice Cube, Chicago Bears head coach Lovie Smith and retired running back Jamal Lewis. Ice Cube even flashed the group a west side "W," Venturino said.

But that was just the appetizer.

Venturino, MacNamara, Hefferon and Andrikanich, who stayed at a hotel about 20 minutes outside of Indianapolis, arrived at the stadium at about 9:30 a.m. Sunday, clad in Giants gear, ready to cheer on Eli Manning and the rest of Big Blue. Venturino said the crew bought Giants memorabilia before the game, "but we didn't go crazy and buy a ton of stuff. If the Giants lost, you knew you'd want to burn it all."

Fortunately for them, that won't be necessary.

The friends, who also met up with Hopatcong residents Richie and Vanessa Hoer and Brandon Dora, found their seats in Section 627—upper level, behind the Patriots' end zone—early and quickly realized they were surrounded by New England fans.

But when Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw fell awkwardly into the end zone with 57 seconds left—the Patriots let him score, hoping quarterback Tom Brady would engineer another historic last-ditch drive—to give New York the lead, those around them grew quiet.

And when Brady's 51-yard Hail Mary heave to tight end Aaron Hernandez hit the turf as time expired, the four exploded in chorus of whoops, cheers and high-fives, marking the Giants' victory as red, white and blue confetti rained from the roof.

Venturino said Giants fans outnumbers Patriots supporters about five-to-one at Lucas Oil Stadium.

"But in the section we sat in, New England dominated," he said. "It was kind of difficult for us. Let's put it this way, every time [the Giants] did something good, we were the only ones standing up. But, obviously, at the end of the day, we got the best of [the Patriots.]"

"It was a great game," Andrikanich said. "And it came down to the wire. While we were hanging out we said it was just great we were able to go out there. But with the final play mattering, and in this case coming down to a throw into the end zone, we didn't know if it was falling or not. It was great just being able to go nuts."

The group witnessed almost all of the Giants' big plays up close, Venturino said.

It was on their side of the stadium that Brady was hit with a safety on the first play of the Patriots' first drive and that Manning hit wide receiver Victor Cruz on a short bullet to give the Giants an early 9-0 lead. And they had a clear view of Giants middle linebacker Chase Blackburn's fourth-quarter, momentum-stifling interception over hobbled tight end Rob Gronkowski.

How they ended up at the game was almost as remarkable as the Super Bowl itself.

Venturino and Hefferon went to Lambeau Field with their wives, Stef and Lisa, respectively, to watch the Giants upset the Green Bay Packers, 37-20, in the NFC divisional game. And MacNamara traveled to Candlestick Park with friend Chris Wilson to see the Giants beat the San Francisco, 20-17, in overtime to send New York to the big game.

So with the possibility the Giants might never return to another Super Bowl in their lifetimes—and with the blessings of their wives—the four booked the tickets and, on Sunday, witnessed perhaps one of the greatest endings in NFL history.

"It was a heck of an experience," Venturino said.