If Las Vegas area Super Bowl fans are correct, things will be bleak for the Philadelphia Eagles Sunday, as people settle in for their yearly dose of football and meatball stew.
    Most have a prediction and a preference, although precious few are bona fide fans of either the New England Patriots or the Philadelphia Eagles; for the most part, they favor one team or the other on the basis of whether that championship team represents the American or National conference.
    And there’s a surprising number of Dallas Cowboy fans. One of them, who identified himself as a “closet Dallas fan,” made a prediction but didn’t want his name used. Sorry, but it doesn’t work that way: no name, no quote.
    Those who admit being Dallas Cowboy fans represent a sizeable number of Las Vegas area folk, and they’ll be identified here, in the hope that fans of other teams may somehow reach out to them with the wisdom of rooting for just about any other team, such as the Oakland Raiders.
    So if you know any of these Cowboy idolators, please try to get to them before Sunday, lest they spend too much time praying to Saint Jude, the Patron Saint of Lost Cowboys–er–Causes.
    Though there’s hope on the part of plenty of our pigskin pontificators, Patriots partisans probably provide more plausible prognostications. Or, to put it another way, most of the guessers pick New England to win by a couple of touchdowns.
    The boldest of the crew is Lawrence Pino, a Denver Bronco fan who says, “New England by seven points. I know that. Most people don’t know that. You can put money on it.” Also brave is Roland Salas, director of Highlands’ Servicios Especiales.
    Though he correctly states that the AFC is superior to the NFC, he’s “going to go against the grain and say the Eagles will win.” He’s a Raider fan and accordingly is wise.
    The most non-committal of the bunch was Jonathan Taylor of El Valle, who said, “I don’t even know who’s playing, and you can quote me on that.” We just did, Jonathan.
    Joseph Baca of KFUN radio said, “I haven’t the faintest idea who’s playing.
    Besides, I’ll be busy Sunday.”
    Retired middle school teacher Steve McElroy neither knows nor cares who’s playing Sunday.
    But he’s been a good sport nevertheless. Steve said that on Fridays, a group of teachers used to chip in a few dollars for a money pot that depended on certain weekend sports. He said he put in the money never really knowing who or what was playing. Once, there were no games scheduled, and he learned later that his donation had bought donuts for his fellow bettors.
    Charlie Vigil of Parisian Cleaners predicts “a tough game either way, but probably Philadelphia.” Though a New York Jets fan, Tom Conklin, a teacher at Mike Mateo Elementary, said, “I gotta believe the Eagles are going to take it by seven.” Clarence Sanchez, interim vice president at Highlands, picks the Eagles.
    Another fan hopeful of a Philly victory is Benjie Lucero, a Medical Center employee, who predicts New England will win 28-24. Lucero is a Bronco fan.
    Long-time clerk at Allsup’s on Grand, Debra Lovato, says the Patriots will win by about 14 points. She too is a Cowboy fan, because “I have six brothers who like the Cowboys.” It’s not good to argue with a woman who has six brothers, even if Dallas’ many injuries have turned them into the Owwboys.
    Kent Muse, a Tampa Bay Bucs fan, favors the Eagles by three. Muse said he picked the Eagles early in the season to get to the Super Bowl.
    Anthony Larrañaga of BTU; Calvin Hager, a retired Highlands professor; Lewis Padilla of Pino’s Quick Lube; Jerry Manzanares, a retired state radio communications employee; and Ernest Duran, of Enchantment Motors (formerly Highlands Auto Plaza), all are fans of the San Francisco 49ers. They expect the Patriots to win, by two TDs.
    Hager predicts a Patriots victory, but he left his heart in San Francisco.
    “My teams (49ers and Chicago Bears) got their butts kicked this year.” For Larrañaga, the Patriots will win 24-6; Padilla predicts at least a 15-point New England victory; Manzanares said, “My heart is with Philadelphia, but New England’s going to beat them, by two touchdowns.” Duran expects a one-touchdown victory by the Patriots.
    Julian Rains of Outback Pawnshop, has no favorite team but predicts a two-touchdown win for the Patriots.
    Jonathan Martinez, of Pancho’s Roadside Cafe, said, “I’m hoping for the Eagles, but probably the Patriots will win. They have a more aggressive defense.” But what he’d really hope for is to see his favorite team, the Oakland Raiders playing in Jacksonville Sunday.
    Eddie Trujillo, municipal judge, said, “I want the NFC to win, but I think the Pats will win by three touchdowns.” He’s a Green Bay fan.
    Other Dallas fans include Clarence Romero, a Wal-Mart associate, who gives the Pats a 14-point edge; Eloy Gonzales, a retired radiation technician, picks the Patriots by the same margin but says he’d rather have Dallas in the Super Bowl; Bob Abreu, a salesman at Enchantment Motors, is a Cowboy fan and expects New England to win by three touchdowns.
    Mark Soriano, a sports leader at the Abe Montoya Recreation Center, and a former HU baseball player, would like the Eagles to win, but predicts a 21-17 Patriot victory because New England coach Bill Belichick “has a good offensive scheme, as well as a good defensive scheme.” Ditto for Steve Sandoval, vice principal at West Las Vegas High School, and another Cowboy fan, who says, “Belichick’s a genius.” On that basis, Sandoval expects New England to win by 14 points. Julian Rains also regards Belichick as a “closet genius.” Jean Mejillas, of Wagon Mound, a secretary at the New Mexico Boys School, has a vested interest in the outcome of the game. “At work, some of us put five dollars a week into a pot, and one of us is going to win it. She expects a two-touchdown victory by Philadelphia.
    She’s a Washington Redskins fan. Her husband Marcos likes the Cowboys. Has there ever been a more lethal marriage mix between football fans: Cowboys and Redskins?
    As for me, I pick the Eagles and invoke the words of an ancient Roman philosopher: “Soc et tuum.”