By Amanda Carswell and Megan Fraser
It just doesn’t get old for New Englanders. For the third time in four years, the New England Patriots toured the streets of Boston Tuesday with a shiny new Vince Lombardi Trophy in tow.
The 2005 Super Bowl champions loaded into Duck Boats outside the Hynes Convention Center around 11 a.m. before making their way up Boylston Street to Government Center.
Thousands of fans lined the streets of the city, waiting for a chance to see their favorite Patriots player. Trying to get the best view, some spectators climbed trees and snow banks before police told many of them to get down.
People in buildings on the parade route took a break from their day to watch the Pats ride by on the street below. Charlesmark Hotel spectators climbed out of windows to take their seats on the roof overlooking the parade.
The crowd was relatively quiet before the parade started. Some fans threw a football back and forth across Boylston, and a “Yankees suck” chant was heard for a short time.
With six helicopters overhead, coach Bill Belichick and the three trophies led the parade, with quarterback Tom Brady and Super Bowl MVP Deion Branch in the following boat. Some boats carried the Patriots cheerleaders, while others shot red, white and blue confetti into the air.
Unlike the last two parades that were held for the Patriots, this celebration did not include a rally on the steps of City Hall Plaza. Instead, the Duck Boats were equipped with a speaker system that allowed an announcer to introduce players.
“Last year was better because it was big. There was a rally,” said Tommy Mountain, a freshman biology major. “But I don’t have any complaints, I got to see the team.” Not all Northeastern students said they felt the same.
“I think it could have been better,” said Nora Cahillane, a freshman communications major. “The Red Sox had their names on the sides of the boats and that would’ve been good. I know a lot of the players, but I couldn’t match the faces to their names.”
Some students attribute the lack of a rally to the events of last year’s Super Bowl and this year’s World Series.
“I think they were worried about us,” said freshman chemical engineering major Chris Cummings. ” [The amount of police] seemed OK, but I saw like 100 cops just standing at the end of the parade, it seemed pointless.”
There was a large police presence along the parade route, including K-9 units, motorcycle and bicycle police, as well as many officers on foot throughout the crowd.
One Boston Police officer who was overseeing the barricade breakdown on the parade route smiled as he said “no one was starting any problems and I really think everyone is just here to have a good time.”
Players looking into the crowd flashed spectators three fingers, one for each win. Players laughed and held up one more finger as fans shouted the number four at them, having confidence that their team will win one more.
