Tens of thousands of people congregated Monday afternoon to see a bunch of beefy guys get off buses.
It may sound odd to non-Packers 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.
Monday wasn't even the official homecoming. That's Tuesday. Still, folks took the day off from work, pulled their children out of school, bundled babies, brought their Packers-kerchief-clad dogs, 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 firetrucks.
The hordes spilled out from the parking lot onto both sides of Lombardi Ave. Some tried to keep track of the buses by checking to see where TV news helicopters were located overhead. At 2:25 p.m., cheers started to ripple down the line along with shouts of "Here they come!" As the buses slowly drove past the throng, some people began to run down the street holding up their cameras and waving.
A few of the players waved back and snapped 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 snowbanks 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 headband. 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."
Even though it was 20 degrees with a few flakes falling from the sky, Jerry Rubia stood in the parking lot wearing a white short-sleeved T-shirt and orange shorts. That's all. Except for a ball cap.
A Canadian transplant, the Newfoundlander-turned-Green-Bay-resident of 10 years said he wasn't cold.
"I'm from Canada. I'm crazy. I still haven't gotten used to the heat," said Rubia, forgetting for a moment just how crazy it is to complain of heat in Green Bay.
Rubia painted the sides of his green minivan with phrases like "Super Bowl XLV" and "Bears Still Suck." The amateur hockey player said his favorite player is Clay Matthews because he likes the way he hits on the gridiron. And he said on Monday afternoon that there was no place he'd rather be than Lambeau Field.
"If you're not here, you're not a Packer fan," Rubia said.
At the airport, about 100 fans lined a chain-link fence near the terminal, 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 coaches blocked fan views of the tarmac, once the jet landed.
