DAN SHAUGHNESSY

Patriots and fans share an embrace

2/6/2002

as anybody in school yesterday? New England celebrated its Super Bowl championship yesterday with a 2-mile parade and reception at City Hall Plaza. And it seemed that two-thirds of the 1.25 million fans were school kids from Greater Boston.

Marty Miserandino of Salem looked around and said, ''With all due respect, I think the only kids in school are the computer science majors.''

They came from Watertown, Everett, Newton, and Waltham. They wore Patriot colors and school jackets.

Twelve-year-old Michael Calderone of Everett and his pal Dana Romboli skipped the day at Parlin Junior High in Everett, but they had permission from their moms. Cathy Calderone and Kerri Romboli brought their sons to the rally.

''As soon as they won, we knew we were coming,'' said Cathy. ''I remember doing this when the Bruins won when I was in school in Everett. It's a tradition. Hey, half of the teachers are here.''

For those who made the trek, the highlight had to be the sight of Ty Law, using Tom Brady and Troy Brown as Ram props, reenacting his interception/touchdown run, then getting Brady and Bob Kraft to dance on the City Hall stage.

The wind-chill factor was below zero when folks started assembling at City Hall Plaza in the early morning. Soon Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts were filled as fans tried to stay warm while awaiting the Patriots. A sign in a window of the Old Colony Trust building read, ''We Shocked the World.''

''Teachers basically took it as a given that we weren't going to school,'' said Hingham High's Grant Haggerty.

Young mom Kristina Herndon wasn't daunted by the cold and wind. She put a plastic shield over her son's stroller and wheeled 19-month-old Christopher around the plaza.

''He might never see this again,'' said Herndon.

A bunch of guys from Waltham High School peeled off their shirts. Each had a red letter painted on his stomach. They lined up to form ''P-A-T-R-I-O-T-S R-U-L-E.'' They also carried a sign that had ''Brady Is God'' on one side and a vulgar reference to the New York Yankees on the other.

The plaza was full by the time the Duck Tour boats started rolling down Boylston Street just after noon. Kraft held the Vince Lombardi Trophy and waved to fans along the route. Several Patriot players turned mini-cams on the crowd.

Kraft finally made it to the stage just before 1:30 and was greeted by Mayor Menino. Senator John Kerry and Acting Governor Jane Swift also shared the stage. Fortunately, none of them spoke.

After a brief performance by the Patriots cheerleaders, longtime Patriots announcer Gil Santos was first to address the crowd and told the fans, ''This is the most impressive thing I've ever seen in the city of Boston.''

Original Patriot Gino Cappelletti was next and said, ''It's an honor to represent all those Patriots who first played here in 1960.''

Red, white, and blue confetti was shot from a yellow tower near the stage.

Finally, Otis Smith and Ted Johnson led the Patriots onto the stage while ''We Are the Champions'' blared from the speakers.

Brady came out wearing a ski cap, a red scarf, and one strand of Mardi Gras beads. He quickly peeled off the cap and started shaking hands and signing autographs for people in the front row. Brady did not speak, probably out of respect to Drew Bledsoe, who made a loud statement with his absence on this special day. Can anybody blame the guy? Bledsoe was a good soldier to the finish and helped win the AFC Championship game in Pittsburgh, but no doubt he would have felt foolish riding a float now that everybody knows his Patriots days are over.

Kraft said, ''I grew up in this town, in this region. What you did for us today, we say thank you to you fans for everything you've done. I wanted to see in my lifetime a world championship come to this region. And today we're all world champions. We are all Patriots and today the New England region is world champions.''

Coach Bill Belichick, cradling the Lombardi Trophy in his left arm, said, ''We began this journey a long time ago in training camp. It's been six months. It's been a long journey and I feel like our journey's complete. Right now for these players, it's our time. They did it. Congratulations, champions.''

He gave the trophy to Lawyer Milloy, who said, ''Been a long time coming, huh? We got our respect. Let's show the world, we're No. 1!''

Milloy's words triggered a chant of ''We're No. 1!'' something that has not been shouted in these parts since the 1986 Celtics ruled the NBA.

''Only in a town like this could this many people come out to celebrate a championship,'' said special teams captain Larry Izzo. ''I got one more thing to say and you can repeat it after me.'' He then made a crude reference to the Yankees.

Brown was next, then Law.

Law's appearance was the highlight. After demonstrating his end zone dance, he called out teammates for a sack dance, an MVP dance, and an owner's dance. Then came a clean-shaven Adam Vinatieri, the man who kicked the 48-yard winning field goal.

''I cut the playoff beard off,'' said the kicker. ''There's not much more to say.''

He's right. As Springsteen's ''Glory Days'' roared throughout the plaza, the Patriots filed to their buses and the huge crowd began to disperse.

And all they kept talking about was glory days.

Dan Shaughnessy is a Globe columnist. His e-mail address is dshaughnessy@globe.com.