It was a response to Cassandra. Eli is the name of the Giants' quarterback, and I sussed that the coincidence of sharing that name was the only relevant part of her statement concerning it.

Around her, I don't think there are any remaining vestiges of the Irish/Italian split pushing the Patriots/Giants rivalry. It's purely a locational fan base issue.

Football (our kind) is clearly the most popular sport around here, but there's nowhere near the kind of blind passion I see for "futbol" in Europe (or, I assume, Australia). Neither is it as intense as is cricket in India. The aggressive commercialization of the game has been great for the players, but it's left the fanbase a little less rabid. I think people take the teams for granted.

That might be a good thing. There aren't really any equivalents to the Man United fans here in the US, with the possible exception of Raider Nation. Since the Raiders totally suck these days, they are a dog with no bite.