Patriots fans welcome heroes home

By Hugo Guzman  |   Tuesday, February 08, 2005  |  Comments( 0 )

New England Patriots
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FOXBORO, Mass. (Feb. 7, 2005) -- The New England Patriots were exhausted after winning their third Super Bowl title in four years, but they got a second wind when they arrived at Gillette Stadium and saw a throng of about 2,000 screaming fans.

"We never get tired of this, and never get tired of seeing the fans and making them happy and giving them something to cheer about," said Troy Brown, who played receiver, defensive back and returned punts in New England's 24-21 victory against the Philadelphia Eagles on Feb. 6.

Many players immediately made their way to the barriers holding back the fans to shake hands and sign autographs.

Offensive lineman Matt Light, who made a fashion statement last year by getting off the team bus wearing a bath robe, carried the Lombardi Trophy without a robe this year, but quickly donned one to keep up what he called a "tradition."

Receiver Deion Branch, who was named MVP after catching a record-tying 11 passes in the Super Bowl, captured the scene on a video camera.

"We started out shaky, scared a couple of people, but we pulled it off," he said. "Just to go back-to-back, that's big; that's hard."

Fans, some of whom waited four hours on the unseasonably warm winter day, chanted "Dynasty," and held up signs that read "3 and countin' " and "Welcome to our three ring circus."

Defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel, who accepted the Cleveland Browns head coaching job, got off the bus wearing the ring he got from New England's Super Bowl victory last year.

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"This is a great win for us; we were able to win back-to-back, which not many teams in the NFL have been able to do," he said. "It's tough that we are going to break it up, but that's the nature of the game."

Offensive coordinator Charlie Weis also will leave for Notre Dame.

Owner Robert Kraft, who took a congratulatory call from President Bush, compared Super Bowl victories to having children.

"It's like having another beautiful child," he said. "Each child is special in its own way and I hope we keep having children."

Quarterback Tom Brady did not return with the team to Foxboro. Instead, he headed for New York for an appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman.

And the celebrations are not over yet. The team will be welcomed back in Boston on Feb. 8 with a "rolling rally" through city streets fashioned after a similar parade last fall for the World Series champion Boston Red Sox.

The Patriots will be on board a dozen World War II-era amphibious duck boats normally used to haul tourists around Boston. But with the Charles River frozen over, the parade route will stick to the streets and will not include the waterborne cruise the Red Sox enjoyed after their historic triumph.

The "rolling rally" concept gives the public closer access to the players than a stationary rally.

AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service
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About Hugo Guzman

Trying to bring an objective approach to NFL analysis.
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