Fe fi fo fum. Antonio Pierce is a New York Giant in every sense.

That's the verdict of former Giants' running back Ralph (Rocky) Thompson - one of only four Bermudians to play in the NFL - who this week paid tribute to compatriot Pierce, now poised to become the first Bermudian to appear in the Super Bowl.

"Antonio makes me feel so proud and whenever I see him it makes goose bumps run down my back because I want to see him do so well," said Thompson, 61, who suited up for the Giants in the early 1970s.

"I want everyone in Bermuda to know that not only is he playing for the Giants. . . . but he's also a defensive co-ordinator on the field. He runs the defense, and that's big time!"

Thompson said every Bermudian should be proud of what Pierce has achieved. And he has urged his fellow countrymen to throw their full support behind the Giants' linebacker when they take on the mighty, and unbeaten, New England Patriots February 3 in the Super Bowl in Arizona.

"I think Antonio is a real inspiration to Bermuda - he's just got to be. And what I would like for the kids in Bermuda to know is that they also have the talent to make it in the NFL," Thompson said. "Whenever I come home I see guys walking around who I know could've been a guard or a defensive end in the NFL."

The Giants pipped the Green Bay Packers for the National Football Championship (NFC) on a Lawrence Tyne 47-yard field goal in overtime at a frozen Lambeau Field last Sunday to become the first NFC wild card team since the 1975 Dallas Cowboys to reach the Super Bowl.

The 29-year-old Pierce made several big plays during the NFC title match, including a clutch tackle on a third down in the third quarter that stopped a pivotal Green Bay drive dead in its tracks.

It was an individual piece of brilliance that defined Pierce's rising star status in the Meadowlands, and one that Thompson believes tipped the scales in the Giants' favour.

"The real turning point in the game occurred when Antonio broke up that screen. He went through three lineman to get to the ball carrier who he was still able to take down," said Thompson, whose sports career began in humble settings at the former Central School in Pembroke where he suited up as a goalkeeper for the school's football team before taking up residence in the US and later Japan. "Everybody thinks Brett Favre's throw that was intercepted was the turning point of the game.

"Favre was thinking right but threw the ball to the left and Antonio went through three lineman and still took the ball carrier down.

"That stopped the drive right there and to me that was the real turning point in the game. When Antonio broke up that screen I knew then that we were going to win. I said if we go into overtime and they don't score, then we are going to win when we get the ball."

The Patriots beat the Giants twice during the regular season and as such will head into the Super Bowl as favourites over a team that seems to thrive on the road.

Thompson, however, begs to differ.

"I think the Giants have what it takes to beat the Patriots and I think they are going to beat them," he boldly predicted."It's going to be rough, but I don't think the Patriots can beat the Giants three times in one year."

Thompson is also confident Pierce will deliver the goods on the day but admits the Giants linebacker's task will not be an easy one.

"Antonio has what it takes but he will have to cover Maroni (Patriots running back Lawrence Maroni)," he said. "Maroni is no slouch, he can run. So Antonio will have his work cut out for him."