Whose Territory Is It Anyway?

(This Hometown View originally aired on Friday, January 9, 2009)

As much as any other county in the state Ocean County is probably divided when it comes to rooting interests for Sunday’s NFL Playoff game between the Eagles and Giants. Generally speaking it always seemed like most of those who lived in the northern part of the county were New York fans while those in the south were more likely to follow teams from Philly. Whether or not there is a dividing line is debatable, some will tell you Lacey Road but there really is no definitive geographical point which separates the allegiances of residents.

Steve Chernoski is the Director of a soon to be released movie titled New Jersey: the Movie in which the theme is the dividing line between north and south. How you might determine that can be as simple as who calls a certain sandwich a “sub” or a “hoagie” to whether your loyalties rest with the Giants or Eagles. For most of the state you can probably tell this by walking into a sports store and seeing what team is featured when it comes to clothing but it’s not that simple in Ocean County.

Sometimes it just comes down to winning. Take the Modell’s in Toms River. I would assume most Toms River residents are fans of the Giants, Jets, Yankees and Mets but the store was loaded with Phillies merchandise before and after the World Series and it sold very quickly. However in years the Phillies were not very good it might have been difficult to find a jersey of your favorite player.

Chernoski guesses that towns like Toms River, Brick, Lakewood, Manchester, Berkeley and Lacey are all or mostly Giant territories. Jackson, Barnegat and Stafford might be pretty even but leaning towards “Big Blue.” I think once you get into the Barnegat area a lot depends on how long you have lived there. Long time residents are likely to be Philadelphia fans but of course over the last 20-30 years many from North Jersey have relocated to southern Ocean County and still cheer for teams like the Giants. Head further south to Little Egg & Tuckerton you are clearly in Eagles and Philly country.

So what fans will be happy when they wake up Monday morning? Let’s hope it’s those who call a sandwich a sub….not a hoagie.