NYC fans cheer, dance as Giants defeat Pats

NEW YORK - The repeat performance was just as good as the first for New York Giants fans as they watched their team again beat the New England Patriots 21-17 Sunday in the Super Bowl.

At Stout, a packed sports bar in midtown Manhattan, fans erupted into cheers and dancing as Queen's "We Are the Champions" blared over speakers.

"Eli Manning is the greatest fourth-quarter comeback quarterback ever," said Andrew West, 28, of Manhattan. "Overall, it was a great game for both teams, but the Giants sort of pulled it out," West said.

Frank Gerald, 39, of Manhattan called the win, "destiny," and said the Giants had "incredible spirit all year long."

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"It seems like every time people count them out, the Giants come through and prove everyone wrong," said Keith Panzarella, 23, of Queens. "They are the best when their backs are against the wall."

The last time the teams met in the big game in 2008, the Giants upset the undefeated Patriots 17-14 in one of the most exciting Super Bowls ever. Two days later, massive crowds cheered the Giants as they paraded up Broadway's Canyon of Heroes.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who planned to attend the game in Indianapolis, announced the City would host a ticker-tape parade and ceremony for the Super Bowl champions on Tuesday.

"Big Blue gave us a game to remember, and on Tuesday we're going to give them a parade to remember," said Bloomberg in a statement released after the game.

New York City store Modell's Sporting Goods unsealed boxes of Giants gear when the team won the game, CBS Station WCBS New York reported. "Euphoria, we printed over 320,000 units knowing the Giants would win," said Modell's owner Mitch Modell. "Had they lost, forget about it, so it's just incredible."

At Stout, New Jersey native Maria Meniola had her eyes focused on the television screen.

One of the few women wearing a football jersey (90 Jason Pierre-Paul), Meniola said if the Giants lose "it's been a good season anyway."

"We didn't think we'd even be here," she said. "I'd cry and go home sad."

With the Giants down by five in the third quarter, Meniola kept the faith the Giants would prevail because "come on, Eli, fourth quarter, the guy has some of the best fourth-quarter comebacks ever."

Now a New Yorker, Meniola has been a Giants fan since she was little.

"My dad and my brothers have always been Giants fans," she said.

The Giants play in East Rutherford, N.J. And if there's cause for celebration, shouldn't it be in neighboring New Jersey?

No, say New Yorkers. A Quinnipiac University poll released Friday found that 75 percent of New York City adults believe the victory celebration should be a parade in the Big Apple. Just 14 percent favored a Garden State bash. Conducted last week, the poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has said that the Giants should hold any Super Bowl parade in New Jersey. Christie likes to call the team the New Jersey Giants.

But wherever a parade, the celebration would surely spill over state lines. State troopers in New Jersey planned to bring in extra patrols on the state's highways to target drunken drivers, speeders, texters and those who weren't wearing seat belts.

In 2008, the last time the Giants played in the Super Bowl, there were 176 drunken driving arrests in New Jersey, said state Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa. That's the second-highest total in New Jersey for a Super Bowl Sunday.