Super Bowl XLIX open thread: Root for Dominique Easley

I'm not chasing traffic with a Super Bowl open thread laden with keywords and SEO and "What time is the Super Bowl?" stuff. Not this year.

I'm not even really all that interested in this Super Bowl, personally: I'm a Packers fan, and the way that last Packers game ended may have killed my enthusiasm for football for a few months.

But there's one really good reason for Gators fans to watch: Dominique Easley.

Easley won't play in the Super Bowl. He's been on injured reserve since December, after knee soreness ended a quiet rookie year as a rotation player on the Patriots' defensive line, and so, if we're rooting for him, it's really only for his team to win and get him a Super Bowl ring.

But Easley's a guy who came to Florida from New York and found himself, found a family, and found a future. He's a Gator who deserves good things, and he's managed to stick on the Patriots roster, which is a bit of a surprise given how both teams in the game have jettisoned Gators in recent years.

And so, tonight, I'm with Ease.