National Football League

Jets fan plans Giants parade in secret

Published Feb. 4, 2012 12:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

The New England Patriots may be slight favorites going into the Super Bowl, but Joe Timpone has spent all week acting as if the Giants have already won it.

It is not just forceful optimism, he is actually a Jets fan. It is his job.

Timpone is the senior vice president for operations at the Alliance for Downtown New York, which maintains the stretch of Broadway known as the Canyon of Heroes.

And whether or not the Giants earn a ticker-tape parade there next week, Timpone has been getting ready since the moment they booked their spot in the Super Bowl.

"Uh oh, here we go again," Timpone remembered thinking after the Giants beat the San Francisco 49ers. "We love it, but the other part of it means a lot of preparation."

And a lot of secrets. Few people were comfortable talking about the celebration this week, as if planning it might somehow cause Eli Manning to throw a critical interception or poke holes in the Giants' defense 600 miles away. No one wants to be a jinx.

The Office of the Mayor, which organizes the parade, declined to comment without denying that the wheels were already in motion. The city also held a logistics meeting on Friday afternoon for a possible parade Tuesday, according to a person in attendance.

Giants officials were also reluctant to discuss it, although defensive end Chris Canty did tell fans this week to "get ready for a parade on Tuesday."

Of course, the team has very little to do with the planning. All the Giants are really required to do is win the Super Bowl and show up on time.