SUPER BOWL XXI : THE AFTERMATH : Giants to Be Honored in Stadium Reception

The Super Bowl champion New York Giants will be given a warm reception in a frosty stadium today by 77,000 kazoo-blowing, confetti-throwing fans of the team that has gone without a national title for three decades.

New Jersey Gov. Thomas H. Kean will present the players with gold medallions for their 39-20 victory over the Denver Broncos in Pasadena Sunday.

The victory gave the Giants their first NFL title since 1956, and team officials said they wanted the celebration to take place where the Giants made it happen this year--in the 76,891-seat Giants Stadium.

Weather forecasters said partly cloudy skies and 25-degree temperatures are in store for the outdoor party.

Workers labored all day Monday preparing the snow-covered stadium for the 10 a.m. celebration. Crews shoveled snow from the aisles and bulldozed it from the parking lot. A stage was set near the eastern goal line, and blue-and-red banners were hung from the balconies.

New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority spokesman Paul Wolcott said that $650,000 had been raised through private donations to stage the party, which will be hosted by comedian Joe Piscopo, a New Jersey native.

Other entertainment will be provided by comic Henny Youngman, professional wrestler Captain Lou Albano, and The Roches, a female singing group.

Film highlights will be shown, marching bands will perform, and as a grand finale the crowd will play “California, Here I Come” on kazoos. The song is in reference to next year’s Super Bowl, to be held in San Diego.

Wolcott said the first 73,000 seats will go to season ticket-holders and their friends and families on a first-come, first-served basis. When the chairs fill up, another 8,000 people may watch from the tarp-covered field. And anyone else can wait in the parking lot and hope the Giants make an appearance.

“We’re trying to get them to go out to the parking lot,” Wolcott said. “But we’re not sure yet. Some of the program still has to be worked out.”

Absent from the gala will be New York Mayor Edward I. Koch, who is vacationing in Poland. Koch at first was opposed to a victory party for the Giants in New York but changed his mind when the American Express Co. offered to pay for a parade. In a telephone interview Monday, the mayor said his offer for a celebration in Manhattan still stood.