Just three hours before the start of yesterday’s Giants-Patriots Super Bowl matchup, more Barack Obama stickers than Giants jerseys were visible in the West Village.

Inside Joe’s Pizzeria, though, pizza chef Mario Osario bounced back and forth between the marble slab where he prepared his ingredients and the oven where he baked the pies for the night’s big game. Hanging on the wall over his head were a dozen delivery slips for more than 30 pizzas that had already been ordered.

Asked if he could keep up with the pace of the day, which Mr. Osario said was the busiest of the year, the chef barely took a break from his rotation. “I don’t know,” he said. “I’m gonna try.”

Seven blocks uptown, at Two Boots Pizzeria, the manager called in three extra staffers to deal with what was expected to be more than 100 orders.

At Mudville 9 Saloon near City Hall, owner Eric Schwimmer placed an order for 25,000 chicken wings. The bar won last year’s Great Chicken Wing Hunt, and deliveries had to keep up with the accolades.

The aisles were bare at the Food Emporium in Union Square except for aisle 6, where customers clogged the stocks of chips and dip with shopping carts and hand baskets. The racks were in disarray — bags of Tostitos were mixed in between bags of pretzels, only three bags of Ruffles remained, and the bottom rack hung disconnected onto the linoleum floor.

Anthony Hogrebe and Krystal Bowde, who were hosting a party at their Stuyvesant apartment, had managed to find most everything they wanted, including pizza rolls, taquitos, and taco dip.

“They’re sold out of mini hot dogs,” Ms. Bowde said, “but that was expected.”

With two hours to go until kickoff, Dana Chin and Ranjan Roy stood on Second Avenue in the heart of the East Village clad in quarterback Tom Brady’s signature Patriots jersey.

“I’m a big Giants fan,” Mr. Chin joked. “I’m just wearing this for cover.”

In a town where the rivalry between New York and Boston sports teams is no laughing matter, Mr. Chin, a 29-year old jewelry designer, and Mr. Roy, a 27-year old financial analyst, took refuge during yesterday’s game at Professor Thoms, an East Village sports bar that prides itself on an allegiance to the Patriots.

“It’s flooded with obnoxious Boston fans,” Mr. Roy said. “It allows us to flourish in our obnoxiousness.”

With less than an hour to go, Giants fans packed the two stories of Town Tavern, a New York University-area bar where for $30, customers were treated to unlimited Coors Lite and waffle fries.

Outside the pub, Peter Jones shuffled up and down the corner holding a stack of Giants hats.

“Giants, Giants, New York Giants hats, New York Giants,” Mr. Jones said in repetition.

Mr. Jones, who had been selling hats uptown before making his way to the West Village, said he was having trouble selling merchandise.

“I’m going out to Brooklyn — it’s so slow out here,” Mr. Jones said. “Believe me, New York is not supporting the Giants.”

With the blast of Guns N’ Roses subsiding from the jukebox inside the bar, the crowd erupted into hoots and applause as the Giants rushed onto the field.

“Let’s go, Giants fans!” the bartender, Julio, yelled from under the plasma-screen TV perched above the liquor rack.

A Manhattan-born Giants fan and recent college graduate, Ben Frederique, watched his team take the field.

“I bet $200 on the Giants,” Mr. Frederique said. “Now that I think about it, I should have done the spread.”