Super Bowl XLII MVP Eli Manning paraded down Main Street on Wednesday, making good on his promise of “I’m going to Disneyland” after winning the Super Bowl.

Manning’s team, the New York Giants, defeated the New England Patriots in this year’s Super Bowl. After that, he filmed the traditional “I’m going to Disneyland!” television commercial. But airport delays in Phoenix kept Manning from making the planned Feb. 18 Disneyland trip.

Thousands of football fans cheered for Manning and his wife, Abby, as they were accompanied down the parade route Wednesday by Mickey Mouse and other Disney characters.

Ten-year-old Jakob Longcob of Mission Viejo was “exhilarated” to see Manning, and 12-year-old Ben Sheppard, also from Mission Viejo, said he was “really excited.”

A Tustin Cobras player, Joe Lovely, also enjoyed seeing Manning. He was one of the Tustin Pop Warner players who rode in February parade that went on despite Manning’s absence.

“Eli didn’t show up last time I came, and I was sad about that,” says the Hewes Middle School student. “And today I’m here to see him. I’m happy.”

After the parade, Manning posed with the Tustin Pop Warner players for a team picture and then answered some questions from the kids and their coaches.

He also gave the children some advice, saying that they should play every type of sport to see what they most enjoy and excel at. Most importantly, Manning said, the kids should “have fun, work hard and enjoy your teammates, and always be a team player.”

- By Rosalba Ruiz and Sonya Smith Photos by Joshua Sudock. Click the picture at top left for a slide show of images. Click the image at right for a video from the parade.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, May 8th, 2008 at 7:42 am and is filed under Disneyland, Special events. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.