Some fans waited since 6 a.m. to catch a glimpse of their favorite players. About half of a Long Island high school class skipped school to see ‘‘a whole nation coming together in one place — this parade,’’ said Mike King, 16, of Wantagh, N.Y.
King and seven school friends got up at dawn, arriving by subway in lower Manhattan to join the crowds packed behind police barricades lining Broadway. He attributed the win to the stellar performance of Manning and the hold-your-breath catch by Mario Manningham that led to the game-winning drive.
‘‘It was one small step for the Giants, and one giant leap for the fans and the nation,’’ King said.
Frank Capogrosso, 11, from Staten Island, with his dad and his best friend, standing at this beginning of parade route, leaning against the barricade with a grin on his face.
‘‘This is better than TV. I love the cop cars, the toilet paper, and the ecstatic fans.’’ He added: I’m ecstatic. I love the Giants, I love their style: They play, they don’t talk.’’
The parade for the Super Bowl champions will have an estimated economic impact of up to $38 million for the city, depending on the number of spectators, Bloomberg said. As many as 1 million are expected — about a third of them from outside New York.
After the parade, the team will travel to New Jersey for a 3 p.m. rally at MetLife Stadium.
This will be the second Super Bowl championship parade for the Giants in four years. They also beat the Patriots in the NFL title game in 2008.
But it’s hard to imagine a victory more exciting than the Giants’ last-minute 21-17 victory over the Patriots. The hero of this year’s parade undoubtedly will be Super Bowl MVP Manning. Manning and Manningham connected on the clutch play, as the receiver made the over-the-shoulder catch along the sideline.
From a Broadway high-rise older than the ticker-tape tradition, members of the law firm Kenyon Kenyon dumped shredded paper out their windows to the spectacular view below of the lauded athletes.
