VALDOSTA – The stakes are high, literally, in the Rudolph family, as Super Bowl XLII gets underway this evening.

It’s a father versus his son, a former Patriot versus a former Giant, and a steak dinner is on the line.

Jack Rudolph was one of the original Boston Patriots. His son, Coleman, played for the New York Giants in the mid-90’s.

“The rivalry is as big as you would expect it to be. There’s no doubt about that,” said Coleman from his home in Atlanta. “I’m rooting for New York because to get my dad to pay for a steak dinner would be an accomplishment in itself.”

As for Jack, “We’ve got a big family feud going on now. We were in Atlanta when the last games were played, and that’s when the lipping started. I imagine there will be some telephone conversations going on during the game.”

The rivalry has gotten so intense, that when Coleman’s eldest son Harris jumped ship to the Patriots, he became a marked man.

“For me and my middle son, every time Harris said New England we popped him,” said Coleman.

A longtime Valdosta resident, Jack Rudolph has seen the New England Patriots go from the bottom to the top of the NFL over the past 48 years. Jack was on the expansion Boston Patriots when they joined the AFL in 1960.

“It feels like a grandfather watching his grandchildren grow up,” said Jack. “Being an original Patriot and seeing how they’ve developed, it’s a real thrill and pleasure, because you’ve been through the hardships of the beginning of the franchise.”

Things weren’t all glitz and glamor when the original Patriots took to the field in the 1960s. As an expansion club, in the young American Football League, there was less money, publicity, and respect.

“We were like the stepchildren of the professional football world,” said Jack. “But it’s great to see the old AFL, which is now the AFC, be the dominant league.

“The first year was tough. We only had 33 guys, and situations were much different than now. It was hard to take someone out and buy them dinner, because you didn’t know if they would be back the next week to buy you dinner.”

Now Jack Rudolph looks on as his former team tries to go down in history as one of the greatest ever, with the best record ever. If the Patriots win, they will finish the season 19-0.

“Any time you reach a milestone like that, it’s a great thing in sports, and you have to appreciate it if they go undefeated,” said Jack. “Records are made to be broken.”

The record New England could break belongs to another one of Jack Rudolph’s former teams, the Miami Dolphins. Jack was on the original Miami Dolphins squad in 1967, and before that, he had ties with one of the 1972 Dolphins’ key players.

“Nick Buoniconti and I played together in Boston, so I’ve known him his whole life,” said Jack. “Any time you’ve been associated with a team, you still have ties to them.

“Our first year in Miami, we were 3-11, so I guess we had a better record our first year than they did this year. They were a better organization than they showed this year. I think, with the change in staff and coaching, you’ll see them be good again in a few years.”

Though Jack played with some of the best players, and has seen even more great dynasties throughout the decades, he still has reservations about calling the 2007 Patriots the best ever.

“It’s difficult for me to say who’s the best ever, because you can look back at so many good teams,” said Jack. “When you can’t play each other, it’s hard to say who’s the best. But they have to be in the top five.”

But four hours to the north, his youngest son, Coleman, has a very different opinion about his former team’s opponent in the Super Bowl. Coleman played for New York from 1994 through 1996.

“I think it’s almost like destiny for the Giants to win, because with all of this controversy around New England, it they lose, it shows that cheaters never prosper,” said Coleman Rudolph. “How can I teach my kids not to cheat when a team like the Patriots do, and everyone says it’s O.K.?”

Coleman is referring to the Patriots’ recent trouble with Spygate, and the accusations that they were filming team practices before their Super Bowl match-up with the St. Louis Rams.

“I think everyone besides the die-hard Patriots fans are rooting for New York tomorrow,” said Coleman. “It would just be a huge statement if New York won with a bunch of blue-collar guys.”

Coleman Rudolph is a Giants and Yankees fan, and his team’s road to the Super Bowl was nowhere as easy as New England’s seemed to be for him.

“No, I didn’t feel comfortable at all about our chances,” said Coleman. “The interesting thing was, after the first time they played New England, I thought this team could compete. But I don’t think anybody thought New York could get this far.”

Both Rudolphs are former Georgia Tech football stars. They are also both members of the Valdosta High Sports Hall of Fame. Jack Rudolph was an assistant coach for Valdosta from 1968-98, primarily serving as the team’s defensive coordinator, while Coleman was a standout defender for the Wildcats from 1986-88.

So, for the coveted steak dinner, the question comes down to the game’s winner tonight.

“I’m looking for New York to shock the world, that’s the theme for tomorrow,” said Coleman Rudolph. “I like Plaxico (Burress, Giants wide receiver), and if they come play well, who knows? I have the Giants winning by 3-7 points.”

And as for his father’s predictions?

“Give (Patriots coach Bill) Belichick two weeks, and he’ll fix the mistakes New England has had,” said Jack Rudolph. “If the weather is good, it will be a high-scoring game, but I expect the Patriots to win by 7-10 points.

“Either way, it’s a no-lose situation for our family. I think it’s going to be a great game.”