Boston holds sixth Patriots Super Bowl victory parade
Boston — The city of Boston once again outfitted itself in gala adornment to hold a victory parade for a professional sports team - this time the New England Patriots - who on the weekend won the 53rd edition of the NFL Super Bowl .
Not even three months since the Boston Red Sox received a similar parade after winning the World Series, once again more than a million fans hit the streets downtown to laud the Patriots, who defeated the Los Angeles Rams 13-3 in the most important US sports event of the year.
The Patriots’ triumph, their sixth Super Bowl win, made them the top team in the history of the National Football League and thousands of fans didn’t want to waste a chance to see their sports heroes with the time-honored and much-coveted Vince Lombardi trophy.
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh launched the parade that got started at the Hynes Convention Center and continued along Boylston Street, Tremont Street and finally Cambridge Street.
In addition, in accord with city tradition, the coaches, players and staff of the Patriots were carried along in amphibious boats known as duckboats.
Among the songs resounding along the parade route were ones often heard when the team plays at its home field at Gillette Stadium, including Ozzy Osbourne’s “All we do is win,” “This is how we do it,” and others.
Patriots owner Robert Kraft led the parade with one of the Lombardi trophies, calling “Thank-you” to the crowd, while head coach Bill Belichick , who last Sunday won his sixth championship ring, was more subdued, wearing his typical short-sleeve sweatshirt and simply waving to the spectators.
Quarterback Tom Brady, wearing a black T-shirt of his own personal brand with No. 6 in red, an allusion to the number of Super Bowl rings he now possesses, was also the center of attention at the parade.
The 66-year-old Belichick and the 41-year-old Brady confirmed to fans that they will remain for another season with the Patriots and try to bring home a seventh Super Bowl title.
Another player who stood out at the parade was tight end Rob Gronkowski, 30, who during the parade opened cans of beer, held up in his hand $500-$1,800 bottles of California wine, danced, threw and received footballs, in the process of all this ripping a number of his shirts and ultimately ending the parade shirtless.