GREEN BAY, Wisconsin - Green Bay's returning Super Bowl heroes were feeling the love from fans on Tuesday in a rally to celebrate their NFL triumph.

Despite frigid temperatures, Lambeau Field was packed with enthusiastic fans eager to get one last glimpse this season of their championship team, and watch as coach Mike McCarthy paraded the Lombardi Trophy.

The trophy awarded to the Super Bowl winner is named for a Green Bay great - Hall of Fame coach Vince Lombardi who led the Packers to victories in the first two Super Bowls.

Unofficial celebrations had been going on in this Northeastern Wisconsin mill town of 102,000 since Sunday, when the Packers beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-25 in Super Bowl 45 in Dallas.

The 56,000 tickets for the official "Return to Titletown" rally sold out within hours on Monday.

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who earned Most Valuable Player honors at Cowboys Stadium, capped the festivities with his appearance on the stage at the 50-yard-line.

"What's up, Titletown?" he asked, to a roar from the faithful.

"We did it together. We brought that title home. We love you." Rodgers said. "I tell you what, Green Bay, we're going to be right here next year doing the exact same thing!"

Fans had packed the stadium car park on Monday morning for one last version of that pre-game ritual of "tailgating" - barbecuing and picnicing from their cars.

Once the ceremonies were underway, Green Bay Mayor Jim Schmitt told the crowd that the city would name a street "McCarthy's Way" - keeping to a tradition that has seen the city name a street after each of its Super Bowl-winning coaches.

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker declared February Packers month.

But it was the players the fans came to see. In their coats and caps, they grinned and high-fived the fans who could reach them.

"Just a very special moment," safety Nick Collins told the crowd. "Something I'll cherish for the rest of my life. I've been chasing this dream for a long, long time, and I'm just glad to be a part of it."

Agence France-Presse

(China Daily 02/10/2011 page23)