New York Giants to get "blue carpet" treatment at film screening

Super Bowl winners Eli Manning, Jason Pierre-Paul, Antrel Rolle, Mario Manningham and Hakeem Nicks will be strutting down the "blue carpet' at tonight's screening of a new DVD that captures the New York Giants season leading up to their upset victory over the New England Patriots in  Super Bowl XLVI.

Some might even call the DVD a remake of the Giants Super Bowl XLII win because there are so many similarities between the two championship runs.

In both scenarios, the Giants' season seemed to be over before the underdog squad gets hot down the stretch and defies all odds by making the playoffs.  Combine that with freakish last minute catches and comeback wins— over the Patriots— in both Super Bowls and you can see how the two championship runs look alike.

The two-time Super Bowl MVP Manning and the other players will be getting front-row seats for tonight's event at the Regal Theater in Times Square for the V.I.P. showing of NFL Films and Vivendi Entertainment's "Super Bowl XLVI Champions: New York Giants" which will be released today.

According to a sneak peak by The New York Post, the DVD begins with clips of the Giants' stunning upset of the Patriots in Super Bowl XLII then fast-forwards to to reveal how "eerily similar" the first championship was to the second.

The game by game account of the season highlights themes like Manning's ascension to "elite" status, the emergence of Victor Cruz and the steady hand of head coach Tom Coughlin.

After the comeback win over the Dallas Cowboys, Coughlin exclaims to his jubilant players in the locker room, "Take the star down off the mountain, put the NYG on top."

There is a slo-mo replay of Cruz's game-breaking 99-yard TD catch and run against the New York Jets and, of course, Manningham's unbelievable catch in the big game.

If those scenes don't get tonight's crowd cheering, nothing will.

Sprinkle those season-turning plays in with poignant sideline shots like Brandon Jacobs, sitting next to Manning, saying, "You're a beast, man, I can't say that enough" and there won't be a dry eye in the house.

Especially Patriots fans who will give it two thumbs down.

Even Bill Belichick gets a supporting role.  The Pats' coach commands his defense to concentrate on Cruz and Nicks before Manning lands the perfect pass to Manningham on the winning drive.

The only problem with this movie is everyone knows the ending but— as the credits roll over shots of the Giants parading up Broadway with ticker-tape raining down— Big Blue fans will already be waiting for a third installment in the series.