At Gillette, a raucous reception greets team

FOXBOROUGH -- The chop, chop, chop of news helicopters grew louder as they hovered closer to Gillette Stadium. For the adoring crowd, which police estimated at around 20,000, many of whom came from far away and braved several hours of freezing temperatures to catch a glimpse of their conquering heroes, it was the first sign the Patriots were coming! The Patriots were coming!

The Patriots indeed came home to Foxborough last night, triumphantly, to place another Vince Lombardi Trophy on the team's mantel after scoring a rousing 32-29 victory over the Carolina Panthers Sunday night in Super Bowl XXXVIII at Reliant Stadium in Houston.

Herded behind barricades that lined the front of the stadium, the fans erupted in a loud roar when they heard the wail of sirens as the team's five-bus motorcade -- which was escorted from Logan Airport by a dozen State Police motorcycles, a fire engine, and two support vehicles from the Foxborough Fire Department and, oh yes, those helicopters -- approached the stadium's entrance on Route 1.

When the motorcade finally hissed to a stop in front of the stadium, Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who rode in the front row of the first bus with the silver Lombardi Trophy in his lap, was the first to disembark. He triumphantly held the trophy overhead as the crowd went wild.

"When my family bought this team we wanted to create an environment like Lambeau Field has up there [in Green Bay]," Kraft said. "[Other teams] don't want to come here because of this. It's cool.

"When we bought this team our dream was to try to bring a championship home and build a world-class organization that was respected on and off the field," said Kraft. "Our objective every year is to try to make the playoffs. I think we have it set up in a way now to hopefully do that the next few years."

While there remained questions about the unresolved contract status of All-Pro cornerback Ty Law, Tedy Bruschi said he was confident management would do whatever was necessary to keep the team intact. "I trust the people in the front office will get us prepared," he said. "I haven't even started thinking about it, I just want to rest up and enjoy this."

When he stepped off the bus, Deion Branch, the second-year wideout from Louisville who factored prominently in the victory by making 10 catches for 143 yards, was totally unprepared for the outpouring from the Foxborough Faithful.

"Every team wants to be in this position," Branch said. "It's great. The fans feel good, we feel good. Everything's good. Some of the guys on our team who came over from other teams, they can't believe this type of atmosphere here."

Said Bruschi: "I've been here a lot of years and I know when you bring a championship back to New England this is what you get."

Asked what mental snapshot he took from the game, Branch smiled and said, "Adam's kick," referring to the winning 41-yard field goal by Adam Vinatieri with four seconds left. In Super Bowl XXXVI, Vinatieri delivered the Patriots their first Lombardi Trophy with a winning 48-yard field goal in a 20-17 victory over the St. Louis Rams.

"He did it before, and he did it again," Branch said.

Vinatieri, though, flew into town ahead of the team on a charter flight and arrived in Foxborough around 4:45 p.m., surprising a small gathering of fans.

Ray Peleckas, 23, of Foxborough, arrived at the stadium around 4:30 and got Vinatieri to autograph a photo of the kicker's winning field goal in New Orleans two years ago. "I just got here . . . and I saw people running over here," Peleckas said of the crowd surrounding Vinatieri. "I was just lucky enough to get my picture signed. I'm so pumped to be here."

So, too, was Willie McGinest.

The veteran defensive end, who had been to two previous Super Bowls with the Patriots, said he missed the triumphant homecoming to Foxborough and the parade to City Hall Plaza two years ago when he remained in New Orleans with family and friends.

"This is going to be my first time to the rally," he said. "I missed out the last Super Bowl, so I'm going to enjoy it now. It's incredible, man. It's cold out here, but these people are out here supporting us and they've been doing it all year."

All-Pro safety Rodney Harrison, who broke his right arm in the fourth quarter Sunday, was pleasantly surprised by the reception.

"I didn't expect this many people here at the stadium," said Harrison. "It shows that we have the

greatest fans in football. They supported us in all kinds of weather." David Givens echoed those sentiments.

"This is great, it's more than I expected," said Givens. "I can't even think about what the parade is going to be like. This is unbelievable. It's the people that make us play hard every game."

Matt Light, wearing a bathrobe with Super Bowl and Patriots logos on it, said, "Look at all the people here, and I understand they've been waiting for hours. We won the championship for them."

Michael O'Toole made his way to Gillette Stadium on Sunday before the game. "I was here at 5:30, everything was closed, and a security guard kicked me out. I just wanted to see if anybody was here."

O'Toole, a die-hard Patriots fan, put his name in for season tickets six years ago when he was 12. Now a senior at Canton High and a member of the track team, he calls himself the youngest season ticket-holder. He showed up yesterday at 2 p.m. and got a front-row perch, waiting for the Patriots' arrival.

"I put up $25 that I earned selling the Sunday Globe to get on the season ticket list," said O'Toole. "It took me three years, but I got the ticket."

Paul Harber and Andy Nesbitt of the Globe staff contributed to this report.