NFL

Tyree talks about Giants’ Super Bowl ‘helmet catch’

The play was called 62 Y Sail Union, and it only changed the course of football history and the lives of the New York Football Giants.

Especially Eli Manning’s life. And especially David Tyree’s life.

Tyree — little more than a special-teams standout heading into Super Bowl XLII — ran a deep post, and when he looked back, Manning was fashioning his great escape from the clutches of Patriots defenders.

UPDATES FROM OUR GIANTS BLOG

“I played with a lot of mobile quarterbacks at Syracuse,” Tyree told The Post as the Giants and Patriots prepare for their first regular-season matchup since that fateful day. “I was used to scramble drills. We locked eyes and he threw it up for grabs.

“The only thing I’m saying in my head is, ‘I’m bringing this one down.’ Obviously, I didn’t have a clue of the magnitude of what was going on.

“I knew I was open, but I knew I wasn’t going to be open that long, so I was preparing myself for some kind of impact.”

And here came Patriots safety Rodney Harrison.

“I knew I went up with two hands,” Tyree said of the third-and-5 play with 1:15 remaining. “I knew I lost control with one of my hands. The last thing I’m thinking is, ‘I’ll just clamp the ball on my helmet.’ ”

And that, of course, is what he did, as he fell backwards with Harrison draped over him. Plaxico Burress then caught a touchdown pass from Manning and the Giants were champions.

“When I think about my career, the fact you always want to leave a lasting impact on the game,” Tyree said. “How everybody does that is a little bit different. … At least I got my helmet in the Hall of Fame. I can say my name’s in the Hall of Fame.”

Tyree, husband and a father of six, lives in Wayne, N.J., and enjoys the fact he is not recognized on an everyday basis.

“I’m a regular dude,” he said. “I just had a great job. I don’t look to be recognized. I don’t look for preferential treatment. If somebody wants to give me a free meal (laugh), I appreciate that, too, I got a lot of kids. That’s not what I’m not looking for. At the end of the day, everybody knows who I am, everybody knows what I stand for. I give God the credit.”

His sudden celebrity after the Super Bowl gave him a platform for his faith, but it also proved to be both a blessing (financially) and a curse (emotionally).

“There was some strain,” Tyree said. “I was just being pulled in a lot of different directions.”

Tyree’s favorite name for the catch?

“Probably Catch 42,” he said. “It’s got a nice little ring to it.”

He will watch Giants-Patriots tomorrow.

“Really impressed with my buddy Eli,” Tyree said. “He’s an elite QB. I think it was great for him to voice that. He’s put the team on his back proving his mettle as a top-tier quarterback.”

And he loves the Big Blue pass rush.

“You get to Tom Brady, you got a chance of David dethroning Goliath, so to speak,” Tyree said. “I’m expecting the Giants to beat them.”