"Zuccotti Park has been taken over by Giants fans!" – Fox News New York, 2/7/12
Down Broadway, fans line the streets behind the barricades, “a Jints fan
from the cradle to the grave,"
Waiting for their beloved team, cheering everything that moves,
"everyone’s a Giants fan today,"
All wearing big blue uniforms and waving something, usually some kind
of homemade sign:
"King of New York baby," "GMen all day every day," "just wait until
next year, when they win again."
Some have camped out overnight, with binoculars to catch a glimpse
of their heroes,
Toilet paper banners like ribbons in the sky, confetti thrown from
upper-story windows,
Blue grease paint under eyes, a Giants helmet on the Wall Street bull,
The tourist bus is covered with a “Champions” banner, people take
pictures from the top.
Blue flower floats pulled by F-150s roll in to a sea of red, white and blue
stock ticker tape,
To screams of "gi-ants, gi-ants, gi-ants," red and blue balloons explode, American flags wave,
Fans look like babies seeing candles for the first time, throwing
programs at the players
Who wave, beaming, grateful, to the gotham cheers for the champions
of the woyuldd.
They expect winners here, but they treat them just like royalty, people
out of buildings whistling like birds
Just like on the sides of the streets, raising their voices so they can finally
be heard,
To commemorate a victory that can’t be overturned, marching bands
with pink and white hat feathers,
The usual fraternal organizations on wheels, traveling podiums
filled with cheerleaders,
Traffic completely stopped, the asphalt filled with confetti like snow,
The sound like jet engines revving, “they always get written off
and they come back to win,” and then, who shows up but
Police in riot gear behind plastic body shields, they order everyone
to disperse,
Shooting pepper spray from water cannons on the mob,
Arresting any who resist, with zipcuff wire, throwing them headfirst
onto concrete,
Ripping up the tents of those who’ve camped out, taking their pom-poms
and whistles
And crushing them with bulldozers, where they’re swept up by teams
in hazmat suits.
People who complain are beaten senseless and bloody
with nightsticks,
People who try to get away are kettled into side streets so they can be
arrested,
And people who still dare to wave the champions flag are tased.
In the crowd are some city officials, journalists, diplomats from other
countries,
All of them are swept up in the net and handcuffed if they resist in any
way.
Out of the melee, a few reasons are suggested: there are children in
danger, ticker tape is a health violation,
The noise ordinances have been violated, traffic has been blocked,
there wasn’t an official permit,
But the people know otherwise: they played hookey from work or school
for the day,
They dared to believe, and speak their mind a little too freely, they took
over, if just for a day.
A few peeled it back a deeper level: rooting for the giants is anti-patriotic,
Any victories for humanity must be celebrated privately.
