Brockport student Anthony Costigan competes to be NFL's Most Dedicated Fan

It takes a lot to be a dedicated fan. You have to live and breathe for your team through the great, the good, the bad and the utterly awful. It takes a commitment and loyalty that can rarely be found anywhere else. It is a compilation of little things that creates the most dedicated fan.

Anthony Costigan thinks he has all of the little things to be that. The College at Brockport senior physical education major has already been named the Philadelphia Eagles' Most Dedicated Fan, placing him as one of 32 finalists in the Vicks' Nyquil/Dayquil hunt for a trip to Super Bowl XLVI and an accompanying eight-day vacation for two.

Those who thought they were dedicated fans submitted a photo of themselves through Vicks' Facebook application. Costigan was in the middle of uploading photos of the Eagles game he attended to his Facebook page when he saw a random link on the side advertising for the competition. He decided to enter.

"Clearly by looking at me, I'm a dedicated fan," said Costigan, decked in an Eagles jersey, sweatpants and baseball cap.

Though it may seem like a lot of Philadelphia garb, the Most Dedicated Fan needs more than that. And he has it. Costigan said for game day he wears much more Eagles stuff, including Philadelphia socks.

Costigan's closet looks more like the gift shop at Lincoln Financial Field than a college student's closet. He spent a solid amount of time in his interview with The Stylus listing all of his apparel, including between 10 and 15 jerseys, more than 30 shirts, more than 15 baseball caps, three jackets, 15 hoodies, shoelaces, socks and, finally, an Eagles tie. He confessed he has more Eagles stuff than other clothes.

His piles of Eagles clothing shows the increase in interest from when he was young. Costigan grew up in Kensington, Penn., a Philadelphia neighborhood, until he was 9 years old. He wasn't a football fan as a boy, but was forced into being one by his father.

"I had no interest in football when I was a kid," Costigan said. "I actually despised it. Every Sunday the Eagles would come on and my dad would say ‘Go put your Eagles jersey on.' From then on out I was an Eagles fan."

True to the part, Costigan supports his Eagles no matter the situation. After Philadelphia lost a game they needed to win against the Seahawks, Thursday, Dec. 1, the team dropped to 4-8 and (3 or 4) games out of first place in the NFC East. They're close to being mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, but it's a stretch for the dedicated Costigan to say so.

"Being the dedicated fan I am, I'm never going to say they're out of it," he said.

 Philadelphia has four games to work its way back up to the top. That includes back-to-back games against division rivals Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins to close the season. Who knows who will be in the starting lineup for the beat-up team, which has had its starting quarterback Michael Vick on the bench for the past three games.

"They're a team you can never ever count out, no matter how down and out they look," Costigan said. "That's why I really like them, that's what Philly is about. It's like the movie Rocky. You think he's down and out, but he's not. He's just getting ready."

While his team gets ready to battle for a seat in the playoffs, Costigan has been getting ready to battle for a seat at the Super Bowl in Indianapolis, Feb. 5, 2012. Chosen by Vicks to represent the Philadelphia Eagles, Costigan now competes against the other 31 finalists in three separate challenges and a Twitter competition.

The first competition, the game face challenge, is already closed. Participants submitted pictures of their game faces to the contest's Facebook app, "Vicks Nyquil/Dayquil MDF Contest," where viewers could vote for their favorite ones. The touchdown dance competition is currently under way. The third competition is the Fan Cave Challenge, where participants submit pictures of their "fan cave."

Competitors are also fighting for points via Twitter. Each finalist gets one point for every time their hashtag is tweeted. Costigan's is #VicksMDFPhiladelphiaFan. As of press time Monday, Dec. 5 he is in fifth place in the Twitter competition, with 11,386 mentions. The most dedicated Buccaneers fan is in the lead with 65,894 mentions, followed by the Bengals' (43,087), Dolphins' (25,520) and Saints' (13,791).

The entire contest closes Dec. 29, when one lucky fan will be named the Most Dedicated Fan, equipped with two tickets to the Super Bowl and the opportunity to meet the players taking part in it.

"Just to even be in this competition is nuts," Costigan said. "It's really cool I was just voted to be the biggest Eagles fan in the country right now … Even if the Eagles aren't there — which they will be — it'll still be cool."

Spoken like a true dedicated fan.