Around this time each year, a map of the U.S. will pop up on Facebook or Twitter that shows the favorite NFL team in each county.

Most of it is what you’d expect. The areas around cities with a team are heavily shaded in those colors, and regional favorites are obvious. Most of Mississippi is solid gold for the Saints.

I did say most, because the South is a goofy place when it comes to pro sports. We don’t have a lot of teams of our own in Mississippi, Arkansas and even Louisiana, so we tend to glom on to old favorites or ones that local heroes played for.

This year’s fan map hasn’t been released, but when it is there will be one strange-looking New England Patriots-red blotch in the middle of a sea of Saints gold.

Vicksburg is about 1,500 miles from Foxborough, Mass., but the defending Super Bowl champions have a suddenly rabid fan base here thanks to Malcolm Butler. The former Vicksburg High star saved the Patriots’ bacon back in February with his goal line interception in Super Bowl XLIX against Seattle, and will start at cornerback for them in tonight’s season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Since Butler’s coming-out party in the Super Bowl, he’s become a household name across America. It’s fitting that he’s from the Red Carpet City, since he’s been on so many of them at awards shows this summer that his feet have rug burn.

During tonight’s pregame show, NBC will chronicle Butler’s journey from the drive thru window at Popeye’s Chicken to Disneyland. It’s a story people in Vicksburg know well, but is still one worth revisiting — and not just the part about his meteoric rise to stardom.

While Butler has gone from undrafted rookie to starter for the Super Bowl champ in a year, he hasn’t forgotten about his hometown and the people who helped him make the trip.

He came back for his victory parade in February. He came back to do a youth football camp in July. Every step of the way, Butler has been happy to promote his hometown and his roots.

So when you see that red blotch on the NFL fandom map in West Central Mississippi, it’s no mystery why it’s there. It’s because someone not only made it big, but made it back home.

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Ernest Bowker is a sports writer. He can be reached at 601-619-7120, or at ernest.bowker@vicksburgpost.com