Kiwanuka's right at home in Indy
Mathias Kiwanuka addresses the media after arriving at his hotel with the Giants for Super Bowl XLVI. Credit: Newsday/Thomas A. Ferrara, 2012
INDIANAPOLIS -- If the Giants need a good tour guide here, they can always rely on Mathias Kiwanuka. He grew up in Indianapolis, so he knows all the places to go and the ones to avoid.
Naturally, teammates have been hitting him up for restaurant recommendations. Kiwanuka has been obliging, but he also said there is a plan in the works for his mother to host a dinner for teammates at some point this week.
The whole team?
"I don't think we can fit all of them in there," Kiwanuka chuckled.
Kiwanuka said landing at the airport in Indianapolis was a very familiar experience, even though he probably never does so with a red carpet and media throng awaiting him.
"I've done the flight from Newark to Indianapolis so many times that it was just like I was going home," he said. "The city definitely did it big. I'm proud."
Eli is Coughlin's fave
The season began with the discussion about where Eli Manning stands among the elite quarterbacks in the league. On Monday, Tom Coughlin weighed in on the debate.
"He's never ever been anything less than a top [quarterback] to me, and that's all I care about," Coughlin said. "What I really heard is this business about him being elite, and he is elite. Period."
Plain plane
The Patriots got a 25,000-person send-off and pep rally when they left for Indianapolis. The Giants? They had a special-teams meeting. "Same as normal," guard Chris Snee said. "Everyone was quiet, did their own thing, whether it was watch a movie, take a nap."
Wide receiver Victor Cruz agreed that it was relatively mundane, given that they were flying to the Super Bowl. "Getting on the plane and sitting down, everybody was talking," he said. "Everybody was videotaping, recording everybody. It was cool going in. Once we got in the air, everybody was relaxed, falling asleep, things of that nature. So it was a good flight."
Giant steps
Both Coughlin and Justin Tuck said they expect plenty of support from Indianapolis fans, not only because of their sibling loyalties to Eli Manning but because of the Colts' rivalry with the Patriots . . . Antrel Rolle played in a Super Bowl only three years ago, so he knew what to expect. Sort of. "I'll be honest, I kind of forgot what this feels like," he said. "Getting off the plane is a remarkable feeling." . . . LB Jacquian Williams (foot) still was wearing a walking boot on his right foot as he disembarked. The Giants won't practice in Indianapolis until Wednesday.
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