A very warm welcome

5,000 fans brave cold to greet heroes

By Joe Burris, Globe Staff, 2/5/2002

OXBOROUGH - Loyalty is stronger than frostbite.

Kristen Conti of Walpole was the first person to show up at Foxboro Stadium yesterday in the cold. She arrived at 11:15 a.m., took a spot along the gates surrounding the facility, then braved the elements while waiting for the Super Bowl champion Patriots to appear.

''This is the greatest thing in the world,'' said Conti, a veterinary technician. ''It's better than anything. I'm savoring it.''

The temperature couldn't have been much higher than Antoine Walker's scoring average. The wind swirled and howled throughout the afternoon and evening, unleashing a biting cold that mocked anyone without thermals, gloves, and a heavy coat.

But an estimated 5,000 Patriots fans converged on the stadium, and by 7:30, many remained, bellowing cheers while shivering in their boots, still euphoric over the Patriots' 20-17 upset triumph over the Rams Sunday night in Super Bowl XXXVI.

The loudest cheers came at 5:55, when the seven buses carrying Patriots players, coaches, officials, and family members could be seen behind 10 State Police motorcycles along Route 1. Five minutes later, the caravan had completed its rush-hour voyage from Logan Airport.

''To do that is quite a challenge and accomplishment by the State Police here,'' said Patriots spokesman Stacey James. ''Every underpass we went under, all along the breakdown lanes, people were in their cars honking their horns and waving. Some were on top of their cars, jumping up and down and waving. ''

The first bus had its inside lights on, and fans pointed and cheered for coach Bill Belichick, who was in the first seat.

''We've waited 42 years for this,'' screamed a fan as the buses turned into the facility.

Bedlam set in when the players got off the bus. Then it dissipated when the players disappeared inside the stadium. But several players came back out, as did owner Robert Kraft and Belichick.

Kraft walked right up to the barricade and engaged the crowd, holding aloft the Vince Lombardi Trophy so fans could leave their fingerprints all over the Patriots' prized hardware.

''This,'' Kraft said, ''is the reason why we bought the team.''

Richard Seymour got a loud ovation when he carried the trophy along the crowd. Troy Brown prompted chants of ''MVP, MVP'' as he shook hands. When Lawyer Milloy showed up, some fans bellowed, ''Respect.''

Antowain Smith drew a loud cheer when he approached the barricade, took a white Patriots flag from one fan, and waved it with gusto. He returned the banner to the crowd and continued down the line, cupping his hand to his ear when the crowd began chanting, ''We're No. 1! We're No. 1!''

When Adam Vinatieri stepped off the bus, the crowd erupted into chants of ''A-dam! A-dam! A-dam!'' in honor of the veteran kicker, whose 48-yard field goal as time expired delivered the Patriots' first Super Bowl triumph.

''This is great,'' Vinatieri said, his voice drowned out by the crowd. ''I don't know if it's sunk in yet. It's unbelievable. I'm so happy to have that victory and to bring it home to Boston and have a championship here.''

''Everybody was appreciative of how the fans responded,'' said James. ''This warmed the hearts of the players as much as the players warmed the hearts of the fans [Sunday night].''

Noticeably absent was Super Bowl MVP Tom Brady, who spent the better part of his day at Disney World in Orlando, Fla. According to James, Brady arrived in Boston at 6 p.m., an hour after the team's arrival at Logan, and will participate in today's victory parade and rally at City Hall.

Business was also brisk at the Patriots Pro Shop, doubling as a safe haven from the weather. By 7 p.m., the store was virtually void of championship paraphernalia.

''We sold thousands of T-shirts and hats,'' said Ken Flanders, director of retail operations at Foxboro Stadium. ''The store opened at 9 a.m. and there were people outside as early as 7:30 for new merchandise.''

The Reebok hats the players wore on the field and in the locker room after the game were the biggest sellers, he said.

Flanders expects sales of all Super Bowl merchandise to have a longer shelf life than the AFC Championship merchandise.

A shipment of merchandise arrived last night and another shipment is expected at 7:30 this morning.

Maurice Vincent, his mother, Pat, and his girlfriend, Linda Descoteaux, all Chicopee natives, arrived at the stadium parking lot at 4:30 a.m. and planned to sleep in their car. But they got kicked out. So they slept in their car in a Dunkin' Donuts parking lot in Foxborough. They came back at noon and waited for six hours before the Patriots finally arrived.

''This is what we live for,'' Maurice Vincent said. ''Anything to be here. When they made that field goal, we went absolutely nuts. I fell on my knees, I was so psyched.

''We never got no respect all year. Now we earned it, grabbed it, pulled it, and we won the respect we deserved. Everyone thought we were lost against the Rams. But guess what? You've got to earn respect. And we earned it.''

''This is like a huge weight being lifted off the shoulders of this area,'' said Bob Lormond of Warwick, R.I. ''We've gone from 42 years of frustration to jubilation. It's like New Year's Eve.''

Some fans were so eager to get to Foxborough they forgot about winter wear. Many showed up in sweat shirts, some in T- shirts.

Many also brought signs. Brian Scanlan of Canton held up a placard praising defensive back Ty Law and mocking St. Louis quarterback Kurt Warner: ''Warner fought the Law, and the Law won.'' Suzy Clark of Foxborough had a sentimental touch: ''You've always been champions to us.''

Then there were Kay Faford of Leicester and Liz Kelleher of Duxbury, who drew an ovation with a life-size, cardboard cutout of Patriots quarterback Drew Bledsoe.

''We got it from a Papa Gino's. We stole it,'' said Faford. ''That's not good, but hey, we're behind the Pats 100 percent.''

Arguably the only thing that could match yesterday's euphoria would be a Red Sox World Series title. Or would it?

''Not for me,'' said Conti. ''I've been a diehard Patriots fan since I was 4 years old when my mom took me to my first game.

''It's always been about the Patriots for me. If the Red Sox win, whatever. But to me, it's about the Patriots. I was here when they were 1-15 and I'm here now.''

Michael Vega of the Globe Staff and correspondent Tim Casey contributed to this report.