Giants fans out in force in Boston

Mike Vaccaro
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OPEN MIKE

INDIANAPOLIS — They are strangers in a strange land, invaders of foreign turf, and they will enjoy every second of their occupation. They are Giants fans, about 400 strong, who will take over at least one floor of a four-story bar, maybe two, maybe more, and they provide a snapshot of what Super Bowl XLVI will mean for Giants fans both home and abroad.

Even if “abroad,” in this case, means Boston, Mass.

“We’re going directly into the belly of the beast, wearing our colors, shaking the bar to its very foundation and cheering as loud as humanly possible,” said Johnny Khatcherian, “but we’ll still be smart and safe and respectful. As always.”

Johnny Khatcherian

BLUE ATTITUDE:Giants fans flock to a Boston bar to catch Big Blue games. Beantown fan Johnny Khatcherian says he expects more than 400 Giants faithful to watch the Super Bowl at The Greatest Bar.

Khatcherian, 31, organizes a group of Giants fans based in New England who have gathered regularly at various Boston watering holes for the past five years. His group is composed of expats from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, plus a smattering of Massachusetts residents whose fan ties reach back to when the Giants were the team of choice in most of New England, before the Patriots were born with the AFL.

“It’s a mixed crowd, 50 percent Yankees fans, 25 percent Mets fans, 25 percent Red Sox fans,” said Khatcherian, who was raised in North Bergen, N.J., and now lives in Arlington, Mass.

And 100 percent Giants fans. At first they would get 10 people one week, 15 the next, and when the Giants and Patriots met for Super Bowl XLII they got a booming total of 40 at GameOn in Kenmore Square, right in the shadow of Fenway Park. Soon, the crowds became bigger when word of mouth spread, especially in those weeks during the regular season when the Giants and Patriots played at the same time, keeping the Giants off TV.

So they switched from the Fens to the North Side, across the street from the new Boston Garden, to an enormous joint called The Greatest Bar. Toss in dozens of New York area college kids who flock to Boston for college, and Khatcherian’s background in marketing and event management, then add in the Giants’ late-season surge, and suddenly more than 400 Giants fans took over the four-story saloon on Friend Street for the Packets and 49ers playoff games.

“Most people started out coming to the bar with a friend or two, usually Pats fans that begrudgingly accompanied them, but in these past few years the Pats fans stopped coming and the Giants fans who used to be strangers have become like family,” Khatcherian said. “The camaraderie and friendships have been an added bonus, but since the Jets game this year, when word got out and the crowd more than tripled again, the place feels legitimately electric.”