From the time the Giants pulled into the Timex Performance Center to the cheers of 250 frenzied fans yesterday afternoon to the moment they received a standing ovation at Madison Square Garden last night before the Knicks-Jazz game, they have been showered with love.
And the biggest reception in celebration of Sunday’s 21-17 Super Bowl XLVI victory over the Patriots is still to come: today’s parade down the Canyon of Heroes and rally at MetLife Stadium.
“It’s all new to me. I don’t really know what to expect,” rookie linebacker Mark Herzlich said, “but it’s going to be really cool to see the city come together and get a parade like this. The magnitude in New York, it will be awesome.”
Herzlich joined Hakeem Nicks, Mario Manningham, Corey Webster, Bear Pascoe, Michael Boley, Mathias Kiwanuka and Aaron Ross at the Garden for the Knicks’ 99-88 win, though all were worn and bleary-eyed from celebration and travel. But no amount of sleep-depravation could dull their adrenaline at the reception from the Garden crowd.
COMPLETE GIANTS SUPER BOWL COVERAGE
“We had every single member of our team working as hard as we can to [win the Super Bowl]. We deserved it, we got it,’’ Kiwanuka said. “This is one of the greatest cities in the world. I’m privileged and I’ve been blessed enough to play football here, one of the greatest sports in the world on the big stage. To be recognized [with that ovation] is the culmination of all the work we’ve done.’’
Kiwanuka missed the Super Bowl following the 2007 season, after suffering a fractured left fibula during the regular season, but in Sunday’s rematch against the Patriots, he finally got to play in the big game.
“It’s tough. There’s nothing you can say to console a guy who can’t be out there,” he said. “When you have a job you want to be able to do it 100 percent, you want to be out there where it’s a win or a loss, and that’s how I felt the last time.
“This year being able to be out there with the guys every single game, I really enjoyed it,’’ he said.
The Giants enjoyed every moment of the cheers last night and plan on enjoying every moment of today’s parade.
“It was absolutely amazing. We have tremendous fans out there. They’re the reason we play the game,’’ Pascoe said. “I was able to go up on the podium with my family and take pictures with the Lombardi Trophy. That right there was absolutely amazing to spend that moment with my family and girlfriend. That made everything absolutely perfect.
“We started the motto in the beginning of the year: Finish. Every single one of us had a goal to make the Super Bowl. We had ups and downs this season, but we kept on saying we’ve got to finish, we’ve got to finish. And we fought through those down times and right now we’re on a high.’’