Patriots fan who stole Giants' SB rings felt team didn't deserve them
In 2008, the New England Patriots' quest for a perfect season came to an end with a 17-14 loss to the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII. Months after the defeat, a Patriots fan exacted revenge on the Giants by stealing dozens of their championship rings.
The fan, a man named Sean Murphy, was a cat burglar from Lynn, Massachusetts, according to Zeke Faux of Bloomberg. After learning the Super Bowl rings were being manufactured by E.A. Dion Inc. in Attleboro, Massachusetts, Murphy and an accomplice broke into the jewelry store and made off with a safe containing 27 of them.
"There was a Super Bowl ring engraved (Michael) 'Strahan' and a few others that read (Eli) 'Manning,'" Faux wrote. "By the time Murphy had finished loading up the box truck, he had more than $2 million of gold and jewelry and more than two dozen Super Bowl rings. 'F--- 'em,' he thought. 'They don't deserve them.'"
Murphy was eventually arrested after an ex-girlfriend revealed to investigators that he had given a ring to another girlfriend. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2009 for different crimes, which he later had reduced to 13 on appeal.
Murphy told Faux he still has some of the rings, including one with Strahan's name on it. He said he may wear the ring once he's out of prison but is ready to put his criminal past behind him.
"There's a lot of ways to make legitimate money out there," Murphy said. "I'm just going to keep my hand out of the illegal cookie jar now."