Antrel Rolle leading Giants fit to a T-shirt

AntrelRolleGiants2
INDIANAPOLIS — Where Trel At?

The Super Bowl, that’s where.

It sure can appear to be a cute slogan on a cool T-shirt by an entrepreneurial safety living the life, but it is so much more than cute or cool or potentially profitable. Antrel Rolle is not merely a part of Super Bowl XLVI, he’s one of the major reasons why the Giants still are around after their season nearly was capsized by too much bad football, most notably by the defensive backfield Rolle inhabits.

Mention “Where Trel At?” to Rolle’s teammates and they start grinning. He’s guilty of the same facial expression.

“No matter what kind of mood you’re in, no matter what kind of day you’re having, when you hear that it just puts a smile on our face,’’ Rolle said yesterday. “Something so little has definitely brought us closer together as a team.’’

For stretches of the season the emotional temperature of the Giants could be gauged by Rolle, who in his second season with the team emerged, in his own way, as the fire to Eli Manning’s ice. Justin Tuck, a team captain, admittedly struggled with his leadership duties as injuries compromised his work on the field, and there’s no doubt Rolle stepped in to fill the void.

His indignation as the Giants were sliding was palpable, just as it is clear he is intensely confident his club will take care of business Sunday night against the Patriots.

There were times this season when it wasn’t readily apparent that Rolle and the team felt the same way. There was the big one, after the dreadful 23-10 loss to the Redskins, when Rolle went on a riff about players with “nicks and bruises’’ needing to forget about the ashes and pains and get out on the practice field. The Giants haven’t lost since.

“When Antrel stood up and talked about players practicing … in my opinion that was the pivotal moment for us,’’ safeties coach David Merritt told The Post.

Impactful with his words, Rolle this season spent just two games at his natural safety position, as he has been asked to fill holes at nickel cornerback, which cut deeply into his play-making ability. Where Trel At? could be a search for where he will line up next, but it’s not. Instead, it’s the handiwork of safety Deon Grant.

“Trel [is] the type of guy who can get ready in two minutes,’’ Grant said. “If it’s 10:30, we’re supposed to be on the football field, he starts getting dressed at 10:27. So I walk in there he’s nowhere to be found I’ll be like ‘Where Trel At? Where Trel At?’ and everybody liked the way I started saying it. They ran with it.’’

Actually it was equipment gurus Joe and Ed Skiba who turned the phrase into a T-shirt, which now is available on rollegear.com.

“The Skibas, they just sort of took it and ran with it, making fun or our Ebonics and ending sentences with a preposition,’’ Rolle said. “Everyone says its now. I have my teammates’ sons walking around saying ‘Where Trel At?’ Everywhere I go.’’

There’s more coming. Rolle’s linguistic crutch — one he’s recently tried to shed — is coming to a crew-neck near you.

“If we go out there and win this thing on Sunday just watch me on the parade, watch me on the float, I will be sporting an ‘At The End Of The Day’ shirt,’’ he said.

This is all part of a two-year transition for Rolle, who initially chafed under the weight of coach Tom Coughlin’s guidelines but now is in line as one of his greatest supporters. Rolle barely spoke to the media when he played for the Cardinals, but now his locker is a must-stop destination, just as his weekly radio spot on WFAN is required listening.

“I’m in the New York swing of things right now,’’ Rolle, a Miami native, said. “I can actually say New York is my second home.

“I can’t see anything being greater than being an athlete and playing in the brighter stage of New York. It’s something I’m definitely blessed to be in. I’m gonna try to capture it and appreciate it and ride it until the wheels fall off.’’

He hopes no one has to ask Where Trel At? late Sunday night, because Rolle plans on being up there on the victory podium, finishing what his Giants started.


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(nypost.com)
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