Going outside of a personal comfort zone can be pretty intimidating, especially if there is no way to prevent it from happening. For sophomore biology major Tori Smith, that was exactly the case  this past weekend.
On Sunday, Smith was ready to represent the colors blue, red and white, just not in the same way most New Yorkers would.
Smith makes up part of the minority of people in New York who are New England Patriots fans.
The 19-year-old was born and raised in Massachusetts. She came down to New York last year to attend Stony Brook. In her hometown of Wellesley, Smith started watching football at the age of nine. Her family also roots for the Patriots, but it was her father who originally got her into the fanbase. “My dad’s the big fan in the family,” Smith said. “He’s the one that made me watch the games and got me into the team. But, we also like [Tim] Tebow because we like rooting for the underdog.”
However, as far as quarterbacks go, Tom Brady is her favorite. “Sometimes he has off games,” Smith said. “But relative to the other QBs, he’s pretty kick-ass.”
Back in Smith’s high school, whenever the Patriots would make it to a Super Bowl, the school would try to “pump up” its students. “They’d remind you about when the big game was on and try to get you psyched up,” Smith said. “Here there’s not really much of that.”
Her plans for Sunday evening were to watch the game at a friend’s house with some of her fellow rugby players. Prior to the game, she questioned how strange it would seem being one of the only Patriots fans attending.
“I know it’s going to be weird when we actually have the game. I’m not going to have everyone wearing Patriots shirts. I won’t have anyone cheering on with me. I’m going to be the only one to cheer for their touchdowns,” Smith said. “I’m a little less excited and feel kind of awkward to show my pride. But even though I’m going to be with all the guys who are Giants fans, except for my friend PJ, I will still wear my [Patriots] sweatshirt proudly.”
As unwavering as her Patriots pride is, she still expects her cheering to cause problems. “Basically if I cheer they’re going to be like “F-this!” I feel like if I say anything, people are just going to bring up what happened four years ago.”
On the night of the game, Smith showed up in her New England gear ready to cheer on her team. She greeted some friends and then sat on one of the many couches facing a large TV. After the Patriots got a safety within the first quarter, Smith shook her head.  Upon the Giants getting their first touchdown, the whole room erupted with cheers while all Smith said was, “Well then.”
Whenever the Giants had possession of the ball, Smith seemed to tense up and looked much more at ease when her team went on offense. For the Patriot’s field goal Smith smiled but did not audibly express her happiness. “Field goals are alright, but I’ll really cheer when they get a touchdown,” Smith said.
One of Smith’s friends, Connor Beierle, sophomore mechanical engineering, was recognized as one of the many Giants fans attending that night.
He teased Smith about the current score in the game where the Giants were leading by six points. “I get to make Tori feel worse about being a Patriots fan if they lose,” Beierle said. “Just look at the score now. The Giants will still be ahead, and the Patriots will still be stupid. Win or lose, though, I’ll still love Tori, but our friendship may involve more cursing after tonight.”
In the second quarter right before the Patriots scored with a touchdown, some of her friends called her out on her team preference and someone in the room booed. However, Smith just ignored it and regained her confidence when the team scored. She and two other people in the room were the only ones to cheer. Everyone else just expressed their disappointment with exasperated sighs or groans.
Smith’s boyfriend, CJ Kottuppally, a junior double majoring in political science and philosophy, also rooted for the Giants that night, even though he is typically a Jets fan. “If the Patriots win tonight, it’s going to be a very quiet ride back,” Kottuppally said.
Friends at school who know she is a Patriots fan like to bring up their loss to the Giants in Super Bowl XLII. Her teammates on the rugby team have said things like, “Hey Tori, guess what’s going to happen again?” She argues back to the best of her ability, but sometimes it seems pointless since most of them are Giants fans.
Just bringing up the topic of the Patriots’ loss in Super Bowl XLII makes her reluctant to talk. “I don’t know what that was a few years ago, but that shouldn’t have happened,” Smith said. “It was kind of embarrassing. We had that whole streak going on. It was at least pretty good that I wasn’t in New York at the time.”
Her advice to the other Patriots fans living in New York: “Rep it proud, and don’t be intimidated.”