New Yorker throws Giant ticker-tape parade worthy of Super Bowl champs

[Trainspotter]

New Yorker throws Giant ticker-tape parade worthy of Super Bowl champs

By STEPHANIE GASKELL and CORKY SIEMASZKO

DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

Tuesday, February 5th 2008

 

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Smith for News

Giant fan gets ready for the parade.

[/float]New York was blue today - a glorious shade of Super Bowl-winning Giants blue - as thousands of jubilant fans welcomed their conquering heroes back home with a victory parade.

 

"We did it! We did!," the fans chanted as floats bearing the victorious team headed up Broadway.

 

Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning - the team's resident shy guy - pumped a fist in the air and smiled as delirious fans called out his name and a blizzard of confetti rained down from the gray skies.

 

Michael Strahan flashed his famous gap-toothed grin and jumped up and down - with the trophy in his hands - while the adoring crowd went wild.

"It's amazing for New York," Gov. Spitzer said before the official celebration at City Hall Plaza. "I've never seen so many happy New Yorkers in one place."

 

The glorious cavalcade kicked off at 11 a.m. when the bells of Trinity Church near Wall Street sounded and soon they were drowned out by the cheers from the delirious crowd that echoed through the Canyon of Heroes.

 

The Giants faithful - many of whom had descended on downtown well before dawn to stake out primo spots on both sides of Broadway - cheered themselves hoarse.

Some brought footballs along and played catch with the players passing by on the floats.

 

It was the first ticker-tape parade up Broadway since 2000, when the Yankees won the World Series. As many as a million people were expected to witness the celebration.

 

The party was all-the-sweeter for Giants fans because nobody expected the Jints to make it to the Big Game - or defeat the heavily favored New England Patriots, whose bid to complete a perfect 19-0 season ended in misery.

 

"18 and 1! 18 and 1!" the crowd along Broadway cheered yesterday, mocking the Patriots.

 

"It's huge," said Tommy Molinelli, a floor clerk at Radnor Research and Trading Co., who was wearing a red-and-blue Giants' sweatshirt. "The last time the Giants won the Super Bowl I was 17, now I'm 34. You never forget something like that."

 

Aeneas Carravetta, an advertizing consultant who works along the parade route, was supposed to be meeting with a customer. He rescheduled that meeting.

 

"You need to be down here with the people," said Carravetta, 26, of Long Island. "You only live once. You never know when this is going to happen again."

Steamfitter Richie Sanchez, who was working on a building near Broadway, clambered up on the ladder he brought along for the job for a better view.

 

"This is a good view," he said. "This is history. I don't think my boss will mind. He's a Giants fan."

Fred Golini, 15, of Ronkonkoma, played hooky from school so he could take part in the Big Blue bash. He said he begged his parents who finally agreed after extracting from him a heavy price. "I have to do whatever they say for a while," he said.

 

Earlier, Giants owners Steve Tisch and John Mara helped ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange. Workers on the exchange floor - many dressed in Giants jerseys - cheered as the bell sounded.

 

Another victory celebration will be held at 4 p.m. today at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, the team's home field.

[Pablo M 201]

Man I wish I went to the parade today but sadly couldn't.

 

Ran into many Giants fans in the morning on my way to school in downtown Jersey City heading to the Grove Street PATH station to go to NY for the parade. Yelled a few cheers, shook some hands. Left me with a good feeling all day and even with the rain, today was great, at least for me.

 

And then ran into more Giants fans on HBLR on my way home coming from the parade and they brung the party with them to NJ and we had a few cheers going on.

[TransitGuy]

Man I wish I went to the parade today but sadly couldn't.

 

Ran into many Giants fans in the morning on my way to school in downtown Jersey City heading to the Grove Street PATH station to go to NY for the parade. Yelled a few cheers, shook some hands. Left me with a good feeling all day and even with the rain, today was great, at least for me.

 

And then ran into more Giants fans on HBLR on my way home coming from the parade and they brung the party with them to NJ and we had a few cheers going on.

 

I went there yesterday. It was an amazing experience and it was worth giving up a day of school. I'll see if I can share some photos later on. I got to see all the players and came really close to Tuck and Tyree but I couldn't get an autograph since they were long gone by the time I was going to throw my hat. Great experience guys.