New York has split personality on football

Chris Canty spent the first four years of his career playing for the team. And there was no question about who the team was.

"In Dallas, it was all about the Dallas Cowboys," he said. "You could say that in the state of Texas, it's all about the Dallas Cowboys."

Are you sure? Houston has made the playoffs and . . .

"Doesn't matter," he said with a chuckle. "Absolutely does not matter."

That kind of all-encompassing passion might not be much bigger anywhere other than Dallas, but in just about every NFL market, the home team is the home team. Period. No one has to ask a Pittsburgh resident if he or she likes the Steelers. No one needs to wonder if a Chicago citizen is pulling for the Bears. It's a civic us vs. them every Sunday in the fall and winter.

But here in New York, that's not the case. Allegiances are split. Jets fans mingle with Giants fans. Sometimes they even live in the same household. Which is what makes Saturday's game between the two teams in the league's only two-team market all the more engrossing.

For the first time in four years, the combined attention of the Giants' and Jets' fan bases will be focused on the same game. And never has it been so focused as it will be Saturday, with each team needing a victory to bolster its playoff chances with one regular-season game remaining.

It may be exciting for the fans, but for many of the players, it's a new experience. For most of their lives, they have been cheered by the community. It started in high school, likely spilled over to whatever college town they attended, and if they played in another NFL market, they once again enjoyed the undisputed passion -- if not always the praise -- of the city.

"It's a different dynamic," said Canty, now in his third season with the Giants. "There's a little more going on in New York."

Besides the Jets, even. There are the Yankees, the Mets, the Knicks. There is the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center and the ball in Times Square. New Yorkers have a lot more to think about than just one sport, never mind one team. It can take some getting used to.

Not only must the Giants and Jets share the vastness of the city, they also share the intimacy of the stadium they co-own.

"I think it's been great," safety Antrel Rolle said of playing in a town divided. "I think it intensifies it a little bit more."

Rolle played for the University of Miami and started his pro career with the Arizona Cardinals, playing out of Phoenix. In both cases, his was the only football team in town. Now he's one of two.

That, of course, means daily interactions with fans who can't stand you. David Baas, who played for the San Francisco 49ers and has some experience in the closest other example of a two-team town -- the 49ers and Raiders share the Bay Area -- said he has found he has neighbors who root for not only the Jets but the Eagles.

"The Philly fan and I go back and forth, but the Jets guys, not really," Baas said.

Even Giants coach Tom Coughlin said he has friends who "claim to be" Jets fans.

"They are always good with how they present themselves and how they handle it," Coughlin said of interactions with Gang Greeners.

Rex Ryan tends to elicit more passion from the Giants fans with whom he interacts.

"There's usually a shoving match or something like that," he said jokingly (at least we assume he was joking). "It's like, 'We're going to beat you.' 'No, we're going to beat you guys.' You go right back at each other. It's always in good fun."

Eli Manning said he doesn't think twice about having to share the city -- and the fans and the headlines and the glory -- with another team.

"It's all I've known in my NFL career," he said. "It's a big town."

Normally big enough for two. But Saturday? Ryan has deemed this game a battle for the soul of New York. Certainly the team that wins will have more prestige. The fans and players will have bragging rights. And the victor will have a decidedly better chance to advance to the playoffs

But is anyone going to change his mind based on one game? Will a Jets fan see the light and cross over if the Giants win? Will a Giants fan abandon his or her team to jump on the Jets' bandwagon?

"They're not," Canty said. "But we know what kind of town New York is. Tough, blue-collar, hard-nosed. Both teams want to take on that personality. So it should make for some interesting theatrics."

Ryan said he enjoys the passion of fans, even if they are wearing blue and not green. But he's always looking to recruit some to his side.

"They're still going to be lifelong Giants fans, still going to be lifelong Jets fans," Ryan said. "We're just trying to make up for that middle ground. Some of these kids, make them Jets fans."