There will be no parade today, no triumphant ride down Tremont Street.
But, this being Boston, there will be no shortage of competition, as the city turns from football to its traditional pastimes: politics and revenge.
The Democratic primary pits not just Clinton vs. Obama, but the governor against most of the legislative leadership. With typical condescension, the speaker of the House is already on record saying that electing Barack Obama would be a repeat of the kind of folly voters showed in elevating Deval Patrick.
When the primary schedule was set, few predicted that Massachusetts would matter in the presidential races. As recently as a couple of weeks ago, Senator Hillary Clinton and former governor Mitt Romney were assumed to have the state locked up. But in these campaigns, two weeks feels like forever.
The four major candidates couldn't get enough of Massachusetts over the final 72 hours. If one was so inclined - not that many people would be - it would have been possible to watch all of them in action over yesterday and today.
The state's voters seem delighted by the attention. Huge turnouts were predicted in both primaries today.
This is a made-for-Massachusetts primary. It pits two liberal Democrats in a state that loves liberals. It offers the makings of history in a state obsessed with its role in history. The Republicans pit a prickly maverick, much beloved by independents, against one of the state's most popular politicians.
Senator John Kerry weighed in last week by phone. He endorsed Obama during the South Carolina primary and was on a swing through Washington State and California leading up to Super Tuesday.
"I think he has the ideas to lead the country forward," he said. Even states that Obama does not carry can help his cause," Kerry pointed out. "It's not just about winning; it's about delegates."
One of the few people in Boston who might feel a sense of relief over the Patriots' Super Bowl loss is Mayor Thomas M. Menino, who got out from under his ill-considered decision to host a parade on Primary Day. The mayor apparently forgot that his Election Department has been incapable of managing an election for years, even in the best of circumstances.
When Patrick decided to endorse Obama, there was little expectation that Obama might carry Massachusetts. The plan then was for the governor to campaign in New Hampshire and a few other states and to lend support that way. Suddenly, there is the possibility that Obama might actually carry the state, which would count as Patrick's most impressive political victory since his own election.
Clinton, of course, is banking on years of popularity, coupled with a powerful and proven organization, to see her through. There was never a reason to doubt the potency of that formula. It worked in New Hampshire and was expected to work here. It might, despite late polls that said the race was tightening.
McCain's surge in Massachusetts is harder to fathom. The independents he would need to defeat Romney will have to make a choice: whether to be Republicans for a day or Democrats for a day. Given Obama's demonstrated crossover appeal, there might not be enough independents to go around to benefit McCain.
We shouldn't get carried away with our newfound importance in presidential politics. With nearly half of the nation voting today, Massachusetts is just one more state to battle over. But it must mean something, or McCain wouldn't have come to watch the Super Bowl and to rally his supporters in Faneuil Hall.
If nothing else, the primaries distract us from the bitter pill of Sunday night. When football fails us, there's always democracy.
Tomorrow, when the candidates have all left, chances are that less will be settled than most people expect. The best presidential race of recent times has descended on Massachusetts with a vengeance. It may be less fun than a victory parade, but not by much.
Adrian Walker is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at walker@globe.com.
