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New York. The Super Bowl champion New York Giants got a hero’s welcome Tuesday with a ticker tape parade with tens of thousands of fans turning out to show their appreciation for the American football team.

The team rode in open trucks down Broadway’s “Canyon of Heroes” under bright sunshine as New Yorkers screamed their approval and tossed confetti to celebrate the 21-17 victory in Sunday’s championship game over the New England Patriots.

After the nearly four-hour parade, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg presented the players with the key to the city in a ceremony in front of City Hall to the players, who had traded their football uniforms for street clothes.

“I’m declaring the Big Apple, the Big Blue Apple!” Bloomberg said, referring to the team’s nickname.

Bloomberg said of the Giants, “They believe in each other and you believe in them.”

Giants’ quarterback Eli Manning, the game’s most valuable player, got some of the loudest applause as he addressed the crowd.

“Thanks to all our fans, all our supporters, everybody out there who believed in us, who believed in this team. We never lost faith in ourselves,” Manning said. “Congratulations to all of you!”

Coach Tom Coughlin told the crowd, “This the greatest city in the world and it’s wonderful that we returned the Vince Lombardi trophy to exactly where it belongs, right here in New York.”

Many of the fans were dressed in Giant blue, and some painted their faces blue. Many carried signs saying “Thank You!” and “Congrats Big Blue!”

“They deserve it. We have a team which we can be proud,” said Rafael Hernandez, a 21-year-old Mexican-American who asked for him off from his job in a catering business to attend the parade.

More than 200 black granite strips are embedded in the sidewalks along the Canyon of Heroes with the names of those honored in past ticker-tape parades. The last parade honored the New York Yankees club after their victory in baseball’s World Series.

Following the New York ceremony, the Giants boarded buses and returned to their MetLife stadium across the river in New Jersey, where the team was honored by fans along with Governor Chris Christie.

In Washington, the White House said in a statement that President Barack Obama called coach Coughlin “to congratulate him and the rest of the team on their recent Super Bowl victory.”

“The president said that the team’s victory was a testament to coach Coughlin’s leadership and that his team came across with true grit and determination,” the statement said, adding that Obama told Coughlin “that he looks forward to shaking his hand and congratulating the team in person when they visit the White House.”

Agence France-Presse