Green Bay - Tens of thousands of people gathered here this afternoon to see a bunch of beefy guys get off buses.
It may sound odd to non-Packer fans but to the green and gold faithful - fans who have waited more than a decade to see the Lombardi trophy come home to Green Bay - it made perfect sense.
And today wasn't even the official homecoming. That's tomorrow. Still, folks took the day off from work, pulled their kids out of school, bundled babies, brought their dogs clad in Packer scarves and waved hands, signs, Cheesehead hats and cans of beer as their heroes rode from Austin Straubel Airport to Lambeau Field accompanied by an escort of police squads and fire trucks.
Some of the players waved back and took photos as they walked to their cars carrying duffel bags. But for the most part it was a love affair from afar as Packers fans stood on pickup truck beds, tops of minivans and snow banks to get a glimpse of Super Bowl champions.
They chanted "Go Pack Go!" and sang along to "We Are the Champions" blaring from a home across the street from the stadium.
Many were clad in green and gold coats, jackets, sweatshirts and jerseys. Jennifer Beno, however, wore a tasteful full length beaver fur coat and head band. But that's not why dozens of people - mainly guys - asked to take their photos with her.
She also wore a bra made of the same stuff Cheesehead hats are made from - on the outside of her coat.
As she pushed up her bright yellow squishy brassiere she smiled and said, "That's class. That's Green Bay."
Earlier, about 100 fans lined a chain-link fence near the airport terminal around 1:30 p.m., hoping to catch a glimpse of the Packers when their jet landed.
Fans chanted, "Move that bus! Move that bus!" when city buses that were to carry players and staff blocked fan views of the tarmac, once the jet landed.
Fans waved gold pom poms and yelled favorite player names as players descended a portable staircase, too far away for anyone to identify them. Even though they couldn't be sure, several still shouted, "There's Donald Driver! There's Aaron Rodgers."
A couple of Packers waved. A caravan of city buses led by a Fire Department ladder truck and several police squads left the airport at 2 p.m.
"I'm here to see the Packers, and I'm going to see them, no matter what," said Laurie Witt of Appleton, who did some sleuthing around the airport terminal to find out where the plane would land.
"I saw an official looking older man in a crisp, white shirt and black pants with a badge, directing fans to a side door like they were getting the VIP treatment, so I followed them and saw other people waiting out here," Witt said, pleased to have found a vantage point. Her son, Dave, 24, remembered going to the Lambeau Field party the last time the Packers won the Super Bowl. This time, two nephews came along to the airport. "I was their age the last time, and now they're getting to see the Packers win the Super Bowl, too," he said.
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