LIers in Indy celebrate Giants' win

INDIANAPOLIS -- They knew it would be close, but not that close.

Roaring sections of New York Giants fans held onto their seats in Lucas Oil Stadium to the sweet end, then erupted as the clock ran out on a 21-17 New York victory over the Patriots.

"It's unbelievable; they were great," said Rich Schulman of Dix Hills, who stayed until the Vince Lombardi trophy was handed out and Eli Manning was named Super Bowl MVP. "I thought it was going to be a nail-biter."

His son Bryan, a junior at the University of Michigan, expected to be up most of the night, celebrating. "I've seen a lot of good games, but this is up there with the best," he said.

Fans from Long Island took to this city like it was their own. The Rotto family from Syosset set up at midday in the corner of a Giants fan outpost at Champions bar next to the Marriott Hotel, where the Giants stayed all week.

Howard Rotto and his children, Harris and Cassie, heckled passing Patriots fans and sang the "Let's go Gi-ants" chant with the best of them.

"This is unreal," Harris said from the bar's outdoor patio. "You couldn't ask for a more beautiful day," said his sister, Cassie.

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The Rovners from East Rockaway hooked up with other Giants fans at a tailgate party at The Huddle in the middle of town.

"It's been a full weekend," said Marc Rovner, who traveled here with his wife, Debbie, and their three children. "It's been a real treat," he said of an event-filled Super Bowl weekend that began on Friday.

Tony Urbinati of Coram said he took blood pressure medicine at half time to handle the nail-biting stress.

"We thought we were in the tank," he said after the game. "It doesn't get any better. I'm flying so high I don't even need wings -- my shoes aren't touching the ground."

The 40-year season ticket holder, who wore his signature jersey bearing his nickname, Crazy Tony, said he was in Indianapolis this week thanks to his longtime friend and fellow Giants fanatic Steve Labonte of Bethpage.

Labonte surprised Urbinati two weeks ago by asking him what he was doing on Super Bowl Sunday. When Crazy Tony said, "Nothing special," Labonte told him otherwise. "You're going to the Super Bowl," he told him.

Indianapolis saw more than 200,000 people crowd onto Super Bowl-themed streets on Friday night, entertained smaller crowds through much of a cold, rainy Saturday, and welcomed nearly 70,000 of them into the stadium.

David Calone, a Babylon resident and Long Island Power Authority trustee, attended the game with his father, Len Calone of Mount Sinai. He couldn't bring the three children, but promised his daughter, Sarah, 6, that he'd carry along a strand of white ribbon that she asked him to wave so she could recognize him on TV. He waved it faithfully when the camera scanned past his seat.

Perhaps the two happiest Giants fans in the stadium were Rich Destefano and Kerry Rich, both of West Islip.

A friend of Rich's offered him tickets at face value last week and he jumped at the chance to get them. Rich and Destefano made last-minute plans to fly to Chicago and drive a few hours to Indianapolis.

Their seats were in the nosebleed section, but Rich and Destefano preferred to call it heaven.