JERSEY CITY -- Growing up, Percy Harvin played sports in his Virginia Beach, Va., neighborhood with a couple of older friends. Their names: Ronald Curry and Allen Iverson. Curry is nine years older than Harvin, Iverson 13, and they were raised about 40 minutes away, across a narrow strip of saltwater, in the city of Hampton.

"I knew at a young age, being able to hang with those guys and play ball with them, that I would be all right," said Harvin, now a wide receiver for the Seattle Seahawks.

These are the measuring sticks used by young athletes in the southeast corner of Virginia — an area of 1.7 million people known as Hampton Roads or the Tidewater, or, as its athletes often prefer, simply by its area code: 757.

Bruce Smith, Lawrence Taylor, Alonzo Mourning, David Wright — they all grew up in the region, which stretches from Virginia Beach to Williamsburg.

Iverson is a likely NBA Hall of Famer. There are many other local legends like Curry, who had a more modest professional career, but still caught 193 passes for the Raiders from 2002-08.

Plaxico Burress was the man on Harvin’s mind, he said, when he talked with his teammate, Kam Chancellor, yesterday morning. Burress, a Virginia Beach prodigy, became a Super Bowl champion with the Giants six years ago.

"It would be good for somebody else to bring it back to our town," said Harvin Wednesday, with the Super Bowl almost here.