EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- It was such a big game that Tony Soprano had to be there. He was seated at the 50-yard line, front row, up close and vocal.
On Christmas Eve 2011, the New York Giants and New York Jets met in their quadrennial state championship at MetLife Stadium. For a change, it meant something. It meant everything, a virtual playoff elimination game for both teams.
The late actor James Gandolfini, a son of New Jersey and a devout Jets fan, was bundled up in a black parka with a green wool cap pulled down to his eyebrows in the 28-degree wind chill.