If you don’t know who Kate Upton is by now, you must be living under a rock – and you definitely don’t have a Y-chromosome.

For those unfortunate souls who are unaware of the aforementioned voluptuous vixen, Upton is the hottest supermodel in the world right now. In the past year alone, she has been named Sports Illustrated's Rookie of the Year from its 2011 Swimsuit Issue, modeled for Victoria’s Secret and Esquire, and snagged roles in Tower Heist and in the upcoming remake of The Three Stooges, playing a rather "unconventional" Sister in a nunnery.

Just last week, she received her most impressive accolade so far: Cover Girl for the 2012 SI Swimsuit Issue. Considered one of the highest honors a print model can receive, Upton told People Magazine, "This means so much for me personally. This has always been my dream."

Upton's rise has been meteoric and sudden, all taking place basically in a twelve-month span. But the most fascinating fact about her ascent into celebrity: she's only nineteen years old! That's right – if she attended a college, Upton would currently be a sophomore. She can't even legally drink alcohol, yet this teenager from Melbourne, Fla. has been tearing up the New York club scene for the past year and has been getting noticed by some serious stars.

There's nothing sporty about Kate Upton when you first look at her – although she was a nationally competitive equestrienne for most of her childhood, winning three world championships in horse riding. Still, she has attracted the attention of many high-profile athletes and has become as much a WAG (wife-and-girlfriend) as Gisele is with Tom Brady or as Posh Spice is with David Beckham.

Her love connection to sports can be traced back to April 2011 – when she was eighteen years old, mind you –  a video hit the web of her doing the Dougie during a Clippers game. The clip went viral and, because of her sexy and suave dance moves, she – and the Clippers – became instantly more popular.

This caught the eyes of some of the hottest bachelor athletes in the country – and especially those in the Big Apple. After Upton attended a New York Rangers game at the Garden earlier this year, then-Rangers center Sean Avery tweeted at her saying:

@KateUpton since u couldn’t stop looking @HLundqvist30 last night now u can follow him.......#sorryhesmarried

Upton coldly replied:

@imseanavery Weren't you supposed to be focusing on a game?...at least we all agree I wasn't staring at you.

— Kate Upton (@KateUpton) December 1, 2011

Ouch. (Note: Following that tweet, Sean Avery would be waived, resigned, and then waived again by the Rangers right before the Winter Classic. Coincidence?)

Then, in December 2011, rumors started swirling about Upton starting a casual relationship with USC alum and New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez.

The New York Post reported seeing him enter and leave her apartment on separate occasions, "carrying gifts." This rumor was quickly quieted by the "We're just friends" excuse, but it would not stay quiet for long. (Note: After Sanchez was reported leaving her hotel in December, the New York Jets would go on to lose their last two games of the season and miss the playoffs. Coincidence?)

Just this week, while Upton was on her media tour around New York to talk about her SI Swimsuit cover, TMZ caught up with her and asked her if she’s dating Marc Sanchez. Her response? "I don’t know! It's whatever you think!"

That rumor may be true, but if that's so, then Upton may also be flirting with the enemies.

On Valentine’s Day, Upton was with Super Bowl champion and professional salsa dancer, New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz at the SI Swimsuit Launch Party. Apparantly, she left rather disappointed, telling the New York Daily News, "I have low self-esteem right now. Victor Cruz turned me down as his Valentine."

But Upton is not only flirting with Jets and Giants players. She has attracted the attention of the most promiscuous and legendary of NFL bachelors – Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski. "The Gronk," known for his "work hard, party harder" lifestyle, decided to tweet at Upton this past week, saying, "@KateUpton never tweet my bro again, he is not crazy! I get hyped!" accompanied by this controversial picture.

In response to the Gronk’s forward message, Upton flirtingly replied, "@RobGronkowski SOMEONE is pretty confident... on twitter haha."

Kate, what are you doing?! You are rumored to be dating The Sanchize, but you've also been flirting around with Cruz and Gronk? Make up your mind! If you don't, the Jets-Giants or New York-Boston rivalry may take a turn for the worse.

Everyone knows what happened to the city of Troy, when Paris stole the beautiful Helen of Troy from Greece to make her his bride. The Greeks and the Trojans fought an entire war over her. The same may happen with Kate of Florida! I'm sure Ms. Upton doesn’t want bloodshed and violence to come of her indecisive dating decisions, but she has a very big decision to make.

Kate Upton has every man in the palm of her hand; she has her pick of the litter and her options are impressive. She has the potential to climb into the impressive ranks of Gisele Bundchen and Victoria Beckham as the hottest model or celebrity to ever wed an athlete – and she's only nineteen years old! Upton's certainly got time on her side, but she may never be as popular or desired as she is right now. And she’s certainly milking it, but she should be wary of her power. Kate Upton may be the most important female icon in male pop culture right now, but her dating decisions may change the landscape of sports and rivalry in America for decades.

But no pressure, Kate. If all fails with the whole date-an-athlete thing, I'm still available.

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Reach Jeremy by email, or follow him on Twitter.