Patriots fans calm before the storm

Calmly and confidently, the New England faithful around Tufts and the rest of the Boston area are preparing for Sunday's Super Bowl match-up in Houston between their Patriots and the Carolina Panthers. And while the fanfare has been less than expected, there certainly isn't a lack of reason for excitement.

The Patriots, the top ranked team in the NFL in 2004 -- not to mention winners of 14 straight -- will face off against resurgent Carolina, who were sub .500 last year and just two years ago finished a humbling 1-15. New England boasts the NFL's seventh ranked defense, just in front of Carolina who is ranked eighth, and the Patriots enter the game with the fourth best run defense. They also allow the fewest points per game, at 14.9 a contest.

Still, some Tufts students feel that the anticipation isn't all they expected it to be, especially with the local Pats vying for the claim of World Champions.

"I'm from up north in Canada, and I imagined there would be a lot more excitement around Super Bowl time, especially being in the hometown," sophomore sailor Alex Singer said. "I haven't seen too many things on TV about it, and I really haven't heard people talking about it."

Tufts students were in the thick of excitement in fall 2003, when the Red Sox narrowly missed a World Series appearance, falling in a tough seven game series to their heated rival and juggernaut, the New York Yankees.

As the Red Sox haven't won a World Championship since 1918, compared to New England, who won football's title two years ago, it's possible that a more mellow post-season fever is present for the Pats.

"This is nothing like the Red Sox. With the Sox, you could see the die-hard fans' enthusiasm all over the city," Singer continued. "It almost seemed as if had the Red Sox won the World Series, the city of Boston would've burned down. I don't see that with the Patriots."

Still, Tufts students have no intention of allowing Super Bowl Sunday to pass quietly, with or without the anxiety and build-up beforehand. Large gatherings are the norm, with students getting together to eat wings and pizza, drink beer, and watch the year's perennial top-rated network show.

"We're going to take all of our couches into one room, and sit in front of our big screen TV," Theta Chi brother Andrew Rothstein said. "We'll all just chill, have fun, and order a ton of wings from Wing Works."

A staple of football games, the Super Bowl provides the annual peak of business for local wing establishments.

"This year, we have so many wings that we are having to store wings in the freezers at [neighboring] Domino's Pizza," Wing Works' General Manager Bob King said. "Business is always crazy at this time, but it's definitely going to be even better this year thanks to the Patriots."

To counter the rush, King is making a few modifications for smoother business operations on Sunday. Wing Works' normal compliment of 13 flavors will be down to five for Sunday, and King is encouraging advance orders so customers wanting wings can have their orders processed.

"We have three phone lines, and from 2 p.m. onwards there is never a free second. The instant you put the phone down, it's ringing again," King explained. "The only exception is if it's a close game; if [the game] can go either way in the last 15 minutes, the phone is silent."

Recent Super Bowl history has shown a flare for the dramatic, with three of the last six games ending in point differentials of seven or less. Two of those -- New England's 20-17 victory over St. Louis as the time expired in Super Bowl XXXVI, and St. Louis' 23-16 victory in Super Bowl XXXIV that almost wasn't had Tennessee's Kevin Dyson reached his arm out just a yard further -- were not decided until the final second of the game.

Predictions for the game run the gamut, although ESPN experts seem to have settled on a close New England victory. King agrees with the experts, saying the Pats will win but will fail to cover Vegas' seven point spread.