HILLSBOROUGH:Most Joey G’s restaurant patrons like the Giants to win

By Gene Robbins, Managing Editor
   Where else to sample Super Bowl opinions but at a sports bar?
   So, it was off to Joey’s G Grill and Bar off Route 206 near the Hillsborough Promenade stores on Friday night. The crowded restaurant features 20 TVs tuned to sporting events, and manager Dave Davis said there’ll be dollar wings and $2.50 domestic drafts on Super Bowl Sunday.
   Not too surprisingly, most of the clientele liked the hometown Giants.
   The Resetars of Hillsborough were all for the locals. Mike, who said “I love the Giants,” saw them winning, 30-20. Breanne was more rabid. “Giants, all the way,” she said, picking a 21-3 score. “Brady is going to choke.” And Terri saw a close game, with Lawrence Tynes kicking the winning field goal in a 20-17 decision.
   Michael Wojtowicz of Belle Mead — a fan of red, white and blue, he said — saw the Giants winning, 20-15. His table mates Alex Rufulo (“Eli Manning rocks!”) and Taylor Wojtowicz (“They live closer to us”) both saw the Giants by 27-7 and 35-8 scores, respectively. Stephanie Wojtowicz and Mark Rufolo agreed, going with the Giants, 23-17 and 28-24, respectively.
   Brandon Rosa of Hillsborough was one of the lone Patriots fans, but by default. “I like the Cowboys,” he said, referring to the division rival Dallas who lost a playoff sport when defeated by the Giants in the final regular-season game.
   Mike Barone of Hillsborough said, “The Giants are going do it and beat the Patriots again, 20-17.” Tom Bernard of Hillsborough said “you gotta root for the home team,” in a close 27-25 game.
   The Epstein family of Montgomery will all be rooting for the local team. Craig Epstein saw the Giants winning, 23-17, “based on how they played in their last Super Bowl and this year.” Julia, 9, saw the score as 27-13, and David, 7, at 27-8. Mom Snezana hoped the Giants win, seeing a 23-9 score.
   Diners saw all kinds of tempo in the game. Craig Good of Hillsborough foresaw a 13-10 victory for the Giants. “They have tough, aggressive players and it’ll be a low-scoring, close game,” he said. But Amanda Bindus of Hillsborough divined a shootout, 47-33, with the Giants winning, and Matthew Fernandes of Hillsborough predicted a 21-17 Giants victory. “Both teams have solid defense, but they’ll open up in the fourth quarter.”
   The Colavitas of Hillsborough split. Julia liked the Giants, 31-28, as did Mark, 45-42, and Cheryl, 28-24, but Michael predicted a New England victory, 31-21.
   Dean Heflin of Princeton suggested a 24-20 Giants victory. Jean and Tom McCann of Neshanic Station liked a lot of points, predicting a 42-36 Giants victory.
   Greg Deutsch of Branchburg pointed to the passing attack in seeing the Patriots’ 31-28 victory. Jack Dolan, 11, said the Giants were the survivor in his the elimination system he had set up in his mind. His father, also Jack, said he was a Jets fan and didn’t want the Patriots to win. So he picked 31-30 for the Giants.
   Sandy Eodice of Piscataway liked the Giants, 27-24. “They’re on a roll, just like 2008,” she said.
   The Schochs of Hillsborough all went with close Giants victories. Keith saw 35-31. “I think the Pats are overconfident. The giants had trouble in mid-season but realized their weaknesses and turned it around,’ he said. Casey and MacKenzie Schoch saw a 31-30 score.
   Keri Degmen of Hillsborough said “It’s their time” in predicting a 24-20 New York vicotry. Bill Degmen agreed, with a 17-14 score. “I think they want it and Elli is the man,” said Keri.
   Three post offices buddies all liked the Giants. Ron Stansbury saw a 31-15 score, citing the Patriots’ injured tight end Rob Gronkowski. Pete Spilletti said the Giants will pick apart the Patriots defense and win 38-28. And Bob Kran of New York liked the Jints, 28-24.
   Jim Mills of Hillsborough said he didn’t particularly like the Giants, but predicted a 28-14 victory anyway. Rendi Dalpe of Hillsborough guessed the Giants.
   Paul Sullivan of Hillsborough and Irene Rejterada, both of Hillsborough, saw 24-17 and 26-19 Giants triumphs, respectively.
   Warner Arias of Hillsborough liked the Giants defense and Eli Manning in a 24-17 game.
   Jim Hager of Ringoes, who said he was rooting for a Baltimore-San Francisco game and was a Pittsburgh fan, said he go with the local team, 28-20. His wife, Brenda, liked the Giants, too, 21-14.
   The Klein household of Hillsborough will all be rooting for the Giants. Hayley (age 12) saw a 40-30 game, Sarah (7) a 28-27 squeaker and Ben (14) liked 36-24 for a score. Mom Susan saw a high-scoring 49-21 game and dad Doug a modest 24-17.
   Mark Hogrelius of Neshanic saw the Giants “of course” in a 31-24 game. He said their defense would be too much, and they were scoring big at the end of the season. Melissa Bryan said “Eli — he’s hot” was her reason for liking the Giants, 31-28.
   Danny Azcuidiaz of Hillsborough, a Patriots fan, suggested a T-shirt tag — “Not This Time” — for the winners, 34-27.
   John Petersen of Hillsborough predicted a 20-17 Giants victory, then changed his mind and went to 42-17. “The Giants have a really good defense. They’ll try and run and keep the ball out of Tom Brady’s hands,” he said. Stephanie Petersen liked the G-Men, 30-27. “We got heart and determination,” she said.
   Bill Spohn of Skillman said the Giants offense is clicking and the defense is healthy, adding up to a 38-27 victory.
   Alexandra Vazquez of Skillman liked a similar 38-24 score, particularly on the solid defense.
   Chris Bleistine of Cherry Hill picked the Patriots, 28-17. “He hates New York,” said a table mate.
   Sean Devlin of Franklin liked the Patriots, 34-23, “because there is a bet on the game.”
   Dewitt Giles of Flemington complimented “two great teams” but saw the Giants on top, 23-21.
   Sherry Miller, now of Columbia. Missouri, was having dinner with former Montgomery neighbors. She saw the Giants, 14-10. The teams are close, she said, but “it’s unbelievable how calm Manning is.” Table mate Mary Ann Mertz liked the Giants, 21-17, as did Laurie Georgianna, 24-17.
   Kate Mastronardi, age 9, of Hillsborough liked the Giants by a score of 27-21 although she said, “I don’t care as long as they win.”
   Her mom, Mena —not a Tom Brady fan, she said — went with the Giants, as did dad Michael, 30-17.
   Last, but not least, Joey’s hostess Renae Seigler of Hillsborough picked the Giants, 14-7, because she liked Hillsborough’s Shawn O’Hara, although he’s not playing for them any more, she said.