James Gandolfini, the actor who embodied Tony Soprano so well on the HBO series "The Sopranos", died of an apparent heart attack in Rome, he was 51.

According to ESPN.com and common knowledge, Gandolfini was a longtime New York Jets fan after growing up in New Jersey and he had plenty of ties to the state and sports, including attending Rutgers. The actor attended many Jets games in the past and he was a number of memorable games, including a win over the Texans in 2012, the win in 2011 over the Cowboys on the anniversary of 9/11, as well as the devastating loss against the Giants that saw a 990yard touchdown from Victor Cruz on Christmas Eve.

Gandolfini was an avid sports fan and even the Jets coach once appeared on "The Sopranos", as Eric Mangini was portrayed as eating at a restaurant that Tony also was eating at. Mangini didn't have any lines, but it showed Tony walk over to him and say hello in the final season. Gandolfini won numerous awards for his portrayal of the complicated mobster, including three Emmy awards for Best Actor.

He starred in many other movies in supporting and larger roles, including "The Mexican," "True Romance", "In the Loop" and "The Last Castle" as well as "Zero Dark Thirty" and "Killing Them Softly" more recently. He leaves behind a legacy of fantastic acting and a family of wife, Deborah, and their 9-month-old daughter, Liliana. He is also survived by a son, Michael, from another marriage.

"It took me a long time to get into character," Mangini joked at the time. "Playing me eating dinner is a real stretch, but I worked with an acting coach and I think I really nailed it."

"I knew the context of what we were doing prior to getting into it and felt very comfortable with being at the restaurant," he said, laughing. "It's not like Tony and I had any previous affiliation or subsequent affiliation. It was more or less just meeting another person at a restaurant who happened to be a fan of the Jets."