Giants Victory Parade
Since the New York Giants won Super Bowl XLII, New York City held a Ticker Tape for them up the Canyon of Heroes at 11:00 a.m. on February 5, 2008. It officially began at 11:10 a.m.
The Giants began walking through the Canyon of Heroes with the George Halas Trophy and the Lombardi Trophy. Various floats full of Giants went through the Canyon of Heroes as 50 tons of confetti came falling down from the sky. Giants players had their video cameras and were filming it. The Giants donned their Super Bowl Champion hooded sweatshirts. Mayor Bloomberg jumped up onto a float with Eli Manning and Michael Strahan who were holding the Lombardi Trophy. Marching bands came up Broadway. Governor Spitzer and Senator Schumer came up Broadway in a car. John Tisch was on a Gray Line bus. The Giants fans were screaming and chanting the whole time. One of the chants was “18-1″. A float came up Broadway with Steve Spagnuolo and Kevin Gilbride. David Diehl came off the float and said “it was an unbelievable experience”. Kareem McKenzie also came off the float and said that Giants fans are the “greatest fans in the world, they cheer for you”. Other chants were “Defense, Defense, Defense” as floats came out with defensive players. Justin Tuck said “This is crazy, I never heard of anything like this, the fans scream your name, and it’s amazing. It’s amazing, I’m lost for words, I’ve been doing this for miles, and this is ridiculous”. Antonio Pierce said “It’s amazing, we need to do this Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, every day of the year. We didn’t do the impossible. It’s beautiful that everybody came out so early in the morning. Don’t stop celebrating. Tell your boss we’re going to party all week.” Barry Cofield and Fred Robbins got off the float and hi-fived the fans. Barry Cofield said “it’s unbelievable. I never expected anything close to this”. The fans started chanting “Boston Sucks”. Antonio Pierce said “It’s the best thing in the world. All these people came to support us. This is for the fans of New York.” Plaxico Burress got up on a float with Gibril Wilson. Gibril Wilson said ‘It’s crazy right now. It’s great to see all these people out here”. R.W. McQuarters said “It gets no better than this. This is the best thing I’ve ever seen.” Jeff Feagles and Lawrence Tynes came out on the next float. Lawrence Tynes said “It is beyond his expectations. It’s unbelievable. I was a piece of the puzzle, and it feels good to contribute.” John Tisch said “I’m a life long New Yorker. One of the greatest things is seeing New York embrace this team. And the fans all came here to say thank you. This is a team of the people. It’s fabulous, just fabulous.” Harry Carson by phone said “I really agreed with John Mara. It was the most historical franchise win for the Giants. They came through. They did New York and New Jersey fans well. I’m watching the parade. I’m currently in Hawaii. I’m really impressed with who’s there. It’s so appropriate that they have a ticker tape parade in New York.”
The City Hall Ceremony began around 1:00 p.m. Whoopi Goldberg came out first because Mayor Bloomberg invited her there. She gave an introduction. The radio voice of the New York Giants, Bob Papa, came up next. He gave a short speech, and introduced Mayor Bloomberg and other NYC officials and Meadowlands officials, Senator Schumer, Elliot Spitzer, Shelly Silver. Then he introduced the World Champion New York Football Giants. Speakers included Bob Papa, Governor Spitzer, Senator Schumer, Coach Coughlin, Speaker Silver, John Mara, Steve Tisch, Michael Strahan, and Eli Manning.
Every Giant received a key to the city. New York City did a wonderful job with the Victory Parade and the City Hall Ceremony. Hundreds of thousands of Giants fans were going crazy. It was great to see all of that.
