Just hours before the first Sunday afternoon kickoff of the NFL season, patrons of Delicacies Gourmet in the Village of Roslyn on Saturday afternoon were ready for some football.
Luckily, they had Sean Landeta’s Super Bowl rings to hold them over until game time.
The former New York Giants punter brought his championship regalia, two replica Lombardi trophies and a stack of pictures to sign for the fans stopping into Delicacies on its customer appreciation day.
But Landeta wasn’t the only big-name football figure to appear at the delicatessen.
ESPN NFL insider and fellow Delicacies regular Adam Schefter joined him for the autograph session and photo opportunity.
“Sean and I met up here for breakfast one morning and told me he had come in to sign autographs before and he asked me if I wanted to do it,” Schefter said.
“Of course I said I’d do it with him and have it expand from just Sean to Sean and me,” Schefter added. “We’re regulars here, we love the place and we’d do anything to help out the place.”
Children tried on Landeta’s rings while their mothers and fathers talked football with the pros, seeking fantasy advice and bold predictions about their favorite teams and players.
“Give the owners a lot of credit for doing this for the customers,” said Landeta, who played 22 seasons in the NFL with five teams. “It’s great that they do this for the community and everyone really enjoys it.”
Landeta and Delicacies first teamed up for the autograph session on Super Bowl Sunday three years ago, when the Giants took on the New England Patriots in the big game for the second time since 2007.
The two-time Pro Bowler expressed interest in returning to the delicatessen, said Delicacies owner Jimmy Zanfardino, and Landeta returned in 2013 for another Super Bowl Sunday celebration.
This year, Delicacies and Landeta wanted to go bigger, Zanfardino said.
Zanfardino set the event to coincide with Week One of the NFL season and Landeta recruited Schefter, a fellow Roslyn area resident, to join him at Delicacies.
“It’s a great way to interact with the community and meet with the fans,” said Schefter, who joined ESPN in 2009 after stints with NBC Sports and the NFL Network. “It’s just a great way to interact with the community and meet with the fans.”
