Bill Parcells to be presented his Hall of Fame ring at halftime of Giants-Broncos

There is only one thing left for Bill Parcells to celebrate his Hall of Fame selection, and that will take place at halftime of Sunday's Giants-Broncos game, when he will stand before the sellout crowd and thank the organization and the fans who helped make his coaching career so special.

Parcells will be given his Hall of Fame ring and take a well-deserved bow in front of those who meant the most to him during his spectacular run.

"The Giants are the ones that took the chance on me [in 1983], so that's certainly a very big step," Parcells said during an interview this past week. "That was certainly a very big step to be able to help the organization do something of significance."

It also was special that Parcells could lead the team he rooted for as a child to the first two Super Bowl championships in franchise history. Parcells, who grew up in Oradell, N.J., just a few miles from Giants Stadium, was a die-hard fan who first started going to games at the Polo Grounds.

"I was a very ardent, ardent Giants fan when I was at a very young age," he said. "I was living and dying with them."

Asked if he could recall which players he grew up rooting for, Parcells quipped: "You want the whole lineup?" He then ticked off the names of some legendary Giants he adored: "Charlie Conerly, Frank Gifford, Alex Webster, Del Shofner, Kyle Rote, Rosie Brown, Andy Robustelli, Jim Katcavage, Jack Stroud, Dick Modzelewski, Don Chandler, Emlen Tunnell . . . You want me to go on?"

Parcells will be joined by the five living Giants who also are in the Hall of Fame: linebackers Lawrence Taylor, Sam Huff and Harry Carson, quarterback Y.A. Tittle and Gifford, the former halfback.

"I think it's great that they'll all be there," Parcells said. "That means a lot to me. There are so many players and coaches and people that were so important to me during my time there. A lot of people had a lot to do with it."

Parcells said he doesn't have very long to speak because the halftime is so short, but he plans to thank as many people as possible. He didn't mention any Giants players other than Taylor during his induction speech in Canton early last month, and he also didn't mention former Giants general manager George Young when he listed those who had helped him in personnel. Parcells said it was not intentional nor a slight at Young, though the two had their share of disagreements over the years.

"It was just an oversight," Parcells said. "I didn't ignore him. He was part of the process to bring me there to the Giants. We were on very good terms down the road. He came to visit me at the Jets a few times."

It will be an emotional day for Parcells, although not quite at the level of his Hall of Fame induction. "Hey now, that was a pretty special time," Parcells said of his time in Canton. "That was a big moment. But I'm glad to be able to do this here. This is a very meaningful thing to me."