[/media-credit]
- As confetti fell from above on Tuesday, New York Giants running back Brandon Jacobs (in blue vest) stared up at the sky. For Jacobs, it was his second trip through the “Canyon of Heroes.”
BY JOHN BAYLES | As early as 7:30 a.m., commuters to Lower Manhattan on Tuesday emerged from the subway stations along Broadway to thunderous chants of “Let’s Go Giants!” The chants only got louder and they lasted well into the afternoon.
Hundreds of thousands of die-hard New York Giants fans began arriving in the wee hours of the morning to claim a spot along the Super Bowl XLVI Parade route, which started at Battery Place and headed north, through the “Canyon of Heroes,” to Worth Street. The parade began at 11 a.m. but the celebration started well before the sun rose over the East River.
On the morning after the Super Bowl, Mayor Michael Bloomberg issued a statement that read, “Big Blue gave us a game to remember, and on Tuesday we’re going to give them a parade to remember.”
Many people probably saw the sun rise as they rode in from various spots on Long Island. The Long Island Railroad added 16 extra trains for the occasion: seven westbound trains between 9 and10 a.m. and nine eastbound trains between 2 and 4 p.m. The Metro-North Railroad provided six extra trains throughout the day and there were additional PATH trains to bring in fans from New Jersey.
Though the sidewalks along the parade route were open to all, the official ceremony at City Hall, where Mayor Bloomberg presented the team with the “Key to the City,” was not. A lucky 250 people, via a special lottery that took place on Monday morning from 9 to 11 a.m., were awarded two tickets each to the event. The winners were notified at 2 p.m. on Monday and had to get to City Hall to pick up their tickets by 8 p.m. that evening.
But for the everyday Downtown worker or resident, Tuesday proved to have its ups and downs. For some, the masses of fans didn’t really affect them until noontime at the height of the celebration.
Jeffrey L., a lawyer in the Financial District, said, “The parade really didn’t get to me in the morning, but trying to get to lunch at noon proved to be pretty difficult.”
Even at 4 p.m., the streets were still full of spirited fans wearing Giants jerseys and shouting “Deja Blue!” and “Boston Sucks!”
[/media-credit]
- Reverend Dr. James Cooper of Trintity Church shows his support for the NY Giants at the Super Bowl XLVI Parade on Tuesday.
Blessing Big Blue
Reverend Dr. James Cooper of Trinity Church had one of the best vantage points along the parade route. During his tenure with Trinity, Rev. Cooper has witnessed three ticker tape celebrations: the first after the Giants beat the New England Patriots in 2008 and then again to celebrate the New York Yankees’ World Series Championship in 2009.
Standing atop a ladder behind the iron fence in front of Trinity Churchyard, Cooper, sporting a Giants Super Bowl cap, wearing his robe and swinging a censer, was spotted by numerous Giants players. Some of them acknowledged the Reverend by performing the sign of the cross.
It was special for Cooper also because Giants Head Coach Tom Coughlin is an old family friend.
“I lived in Jacksonville, Florida for 32 years,” said Cooper. “And I knew coach Coughlin then.”
But even when Cooper lived in the “Sunshine State,” his heart remained with the Giants.
“I grew up in New Jersey,” said Cooper. “It was a spectacular game and a cliffhanger. And, it’s always great to see the underdog win.”
Not really ticker tape
Joe Timpone, the Downtown Alliance Senior Vice President of Operations, has worked with the city Department of Sanitation for over three decades and has seen his fair share of parades. He’s known as “Lower Manhattan’s Confetti King.”
On Monday, the Downtown Alliance received over one ton of recycled, shredded paper from a paper factory in Red Hook, Brooklyn. Members of the Alliance’s Operations Team separated the confetti into 20 small bags and distributed them Tuesday morning to various office buildings along the parade route. But, Timpone acknowledged that the paper that falls from the sky during the parade does not all come from the Alliance.
“There’s a lot of optimistic people out there,” Timpone said. “They probably started shredding their own paper last week.”
When all was said and done, following the 2009 Yankee’s parade, more 50 tons of paper was collected by NY Dept. of Sanitation workers. Timpone said a lot of the paper gets stuck on ledges and balconies, and that a strong wind in the days after is the only thing that can bring the shredded bits of paper to the street.
“It could be a week after the parade, then a wind comes a long and you’ll think it’s snowing,” he said.
Timpone’s role, though, is to actually create confetti that resembles the ticker tape of old.
“There’s no real ticker tape anymore,” Timpone said, “and hopefully this will keep people from throwing out toilet paper and phone books.”
That however was not the case. One fan had a roll of toilet paper hit him right in the head.
“This is a souvenir!” he said.
