Coughlin tells Giants he loves them

3:56 PM, February 5, 2012 ι By PAUL SCHWARTZ

INDIANAPOLIS – Tom Coughlin told the Giants he loves them.

That was the message during the Saturday night team meeting on the eve of Super Bowl XLVI, as the Giants gathered the night before facing the Patriots. Coughlin prides himself on setting a tone and a mood in his pre-game meetings and this one, at the Giants team hotel, centered on his affection and pride in this year’s team.

Details of the meeting were provided by Pat Hanlon, the teams executive vice president of communications.

A five-minute highlight video set to “In the Air Tonight’’ by Phil Collins started the presentation. The video emphasized the last five games of the regular season, plus the regular-season victory over the Patriots.

Coughlin then talked to the team for 5-6 minutes, talking about the theme he’s used all season – Finish. He spoke of how proud he was of this team, how it stuck together, how the motto the team rallied around – “Belief’’ – inspired millions of people around the world.

Talking from experience, Coughlin told his players when you win the Super Bowl, you first look for a teammate to hug to share the joy. Then you look up into the stands to find your wife and parents because they all are world champions.

For his big finale, Coughlin said championships are won by teams that love one another and said he loves this team. He referenced his favorite motivator and coach – John Wooden – by speaking of Wooden’s Pyramid of Success but this time Coughlin substituted “Competitive Greatness’ – which Wooden put at the top of the pyramid – with the word “love.’’

“That’s all I got,’’ Coughlin said.