Thousands of fans roared as New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning hoisted the team's Super Bowl trophy awarded to the National Football League champions, from a glittering blue-and-white float Tuesday during a victory parade through New York City, which Mayor Michael Bloomberg quipped should now be nicknamed the “Big Blue Apple.” The parade set off from the southern tip of Manhattan and moved slowly north to City Hall as fans stood dressed head to toe in Giants gear and confetti wafted slowly down from the high-rises that line the street. The MVP Manning, joined by coach Tom Coughlin, Bloomberg, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and other teammates, waved and grinned from the float as a deep roar rose from the crowds. The team was introduced at a City Hall Plaza ceremony with thunderous applause from the thousands of fans outside. A lucky 250 fans received tickets to the fete, where the Giants were honored with symbolic keys to the city. Some fans had waited since 6 A.M. to catch a glimpse of their favorite players. As the parade wound up around noon, fans stood on sidewalks ankle deep in the paper that was later sucked up by sanitation workers armed with hand-held vacuums.
