Giants fans celebrate big win

They yelled, they screamed, they jumped for joy.

They'll get to do it all over again next week.

New York Giants fans all over the Hudson Valley endured hours of bad calls and big plays, but in the end, Big Blue prevailed, 37-20, against the favored Green Bay Packers Sunday in an NFC divisional playoff game at Lambeau Field.

The Giants advance to Sunday's NFC championship game against the San Francisco 49ers — which means for at least one more week, local Giants fans will have a Sunday get-together to plan.

For three hours every Sunday, they're driven crazy by referees, fumbles and interceptions, but the joy of watching the Giants win a big game is worth all of the anguish, said Chris Taylor of Middletown.

"My thermometer says it's 15.6 degrees outside right now, but I'm not thinking about that," he said minutes after the final whistle. "I have a house full of people, we're drinking good beer and I'm not thinking about how I have to go to work tomorrow. Things are good."

The Giants are the No. 4 seed out of six teams, and Sunday's victory versus No. 1 Green Bay was not necessarily one for the history books, but it was an upset nonetheless.

Now one wins away from the Super Bowl, these Giants are drawing comparisons to the 2007 team that won it all.

"When you're an underdog, the season is all the more special at this time of year," Taylor said. "You really appreciate it. They're peaking at the right time."

In Central Valley, Rob Mandel and his wife, Jackie, shook up their regular routine when the usually superstitious Rob popped open a bottle of champagne left over from New Year's. He didn't wait until the game was over, though. This was a pre-game celebration.

"I said, "You're jinxing it," Jackie laughed. "I'm not a superstitious person at all, so I said, "If they lose, it's not my fault'"

Ken Flood, 53, of Greenville, already is looking ahead to next week. One of his buddies watching the game Sunday is a big 49ers fan. They're already planning a friendly wager for next week's game, and he figures San Francisco will put up an even bigger fight than Green Bay.

"San Francisco is the best defensive team in the league, but the Giants are peaking now," Flood said. "Next week, I think it's going to be a 3-point game. The defenses are too good. It's going to be a nail-biter right to the end."

Back in Middletown, Chris Taylor's wife, Rachel, already is looking forward to the celebration next Sunday night, but she and her husband don't have any definite plans yet.

When she discusses their options, she sounds like she's been watching Giants head coach Tom Couhglin in too many postgame press conferences.

"We're literally taking it one game at a time," she said.