Even though I have lived in the Philadelphia media market for 12 years, I am still, at heart, a New York City media market kind of guy. And I think that the border between North Jersey and New York City is kind of an arbitrary and irrelevant thing from a cultural perspective. It’s all the same neighborhood and the same economy. So, yeah, the Super Bowl is being held in New Jersey, but we don’t call them the New Jersey Giants or the New Jersey Jets, or even the New Jersey Red Bulls. We could call them that. After all, we have the New Jersey Devils, and for a long time we had the New Jersey Nets. But just like Cherry Hill is a part of Philly, the Meadowlands are a part of New York. Being from Jersey is a big part of my identity, but I also consider myself to be from New York, because that’s the culture I grew up in. That was my local news. That was my playground. That’s home.
So, Cory Booker can complain if he wants and try to be a booster for the Garden State, but the Super Bowl is being played in New York, too. Even though it isn’t.
Let’s hope Christie keeps the bridges and tunnels open on Sunday.
