This has been quite a year for Roy Occhiogrosso.
His friend and political candidate for the past six years, Dannel P. Malloy, was elected as Connecticut's governor. After Malloy's inauguration, Occhiogrosso took over as a senior adviser in a position of high influence in the new administration.
At the same time, Occhiogrosso's beloved New York Jets are having one of their best seasons ever, and they are headed to the AFC championship game this Sunday in Pittsburgh.
Occhiogrosso, 45, clearly ranks as one of Connecticut's top Jets fans - having been a diehard supporter for more than 30 years. He rarely misses a game, and he traveled last year to Indianapolis for the AFC championship game against the Colts.
As passionate about the Jets as he is about politics, Occhiogrosso can mention games and specific plays that happened decades ago as if they happened yesterday.
When asked about the greatest highlights through the years, Occhiogrosso says, "There haven't been that many of them.''
Instead, he has watched the up-and-down nature of the Jets - with years of high promise followed by mediocrity and failure.
"They were 27 minutes away from the Super Bowl under Parcells, and Curtis Martin fumbled,'' he remembers.
In the same way, he mentions the infamous playoff game in January 1987 when All Pro defensive end Mark Gastineau was penalized for roughing the passer against the Cleveland Browns, leading to a 23 to 20 victory in double overtime for the Browns. The Jets held the lead at the time of Gastineau's controversial penalty, which turned the game around.