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WASHINGTON - President Bush yesterday welcomed the Super Bowl champion Giants to the White House and congratulated the team for its underdog win over the undefeated New England Patriots.
"It turned out to be really one of the great, legendary football games in our nation's history," said Bush at the ceremony honoring New York's hometown heroes on the South Lawn.
Players, coaches and their family members stood behind Bush as he recapped a season that started out rocky and turned legendary.
"Of course, welcome all the Giants fans - behave yourselves," the president quipped to a whooping crowd that included lawmakers and wounded soldiers from New York.
Bush, a Texan, couldn't help but refer to the Giants' earlier playoff game against the Dallas Cowboys, where their upset victory was attributed in part to the distraction of Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo's "jinx" girlfriend, Jessica Simpson.
"I'm a good sport - we're gonna send Jessica Simpson to the Democratic National Convention," Bush joked.
The team presented a Super Bowl game ball and a "No. 43" team jersey to Bush, the 43rd president.
Head coach Tom Coughlin, who lead his heroes to a 17-14 win over the Patriots on Feb. 3, said he hoped the gifts would remind Bush in the future of "a group of men who believed in themselves and refused to be beaten."
Wide receiver Amani Toomer, who presented the jersey to Bush, later told reporters he wasn't especially nervous about meeting the president.
"All I had to do was take a couple of steps and hand over the jersey. Hard to screw that up," he said with a smile.
Bush, an avid sports fan, noted that the victory meant a lot to New York. Mostly, though, he worked on his comedy routine.
He singled out Eli Manning, the heavily doubted quarterback who proved everyone wrong and was voted the game's most valuable player.
"We have a few things in common," Bush said.
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