TAMPA, Fla., Jan. 28 (UPI) -- Tens of thousands of exuberant Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans lined downtown streets Tuesday to get a glimpse of their heroes as they paraded by.
The parade was followed by a rally celebrating the once-hapless Bucs' upset victory over the Oakland Raiders in Sunday's Super Bowl.
The parade began at the Davis Island Bridge and wound through the downtown area to Lykes Gaslight Park where the rally was held.
"We've been talking four or five years about what it would be like to win the Super Bowl, but we couldn't imagine anything like we just saw out there," said defensive tackle Warren Sapp of the parade crowd.
After getting the key to the city from Tampa Mayor Dick Greco, Coach Jon Gruden promised more of the same in coming seasons.
"There's a storm warning out there," Gruden said. "We got a heck of a football team. We're just getting started."
The 48-21 victory brought the Tampa Bay area its first national championship, so city and county officials didn't quite know how to plan. They turned to cities like Boston, home of last year's NFL champion New England Patriots.
After the Patriots defeated St. Louis in the Super Bowl last year, an estimated 1.25 million fans turned out for a victory parade in downtown Boston. The Tampa turnout did not swell to anywhere close to that figure.
Most estimates put the crowd at around 100,000.
Public school principals were given the option of offering excused absences, and officials said many of them did. Grade schools and high schools let out in plenty of time for the parade, although middle schools were in session until 3:45 p.m.
Some schools near the parade route closed early because of bus problems caused by road closures.
About 60,000 fans attended a 25-minute rally at Raymond James Stadium on Monday night. Owner Malcolm Glazer started off by walking into the stadium with the Vince Lombardi trophy hoisted over his head.
After a round of brief speeches, a handful of players carried the trophy around the field so fans in the stands could touch it.
The feature was a speech by the coach, Gruden, who said: "You ain't seen nothing yet, Tampa. We love you."
Tampa fans have been relatively well-behaved in the wake of the big win.
Two fans were charged with disorderly conduct for allegedly pounding on a sheriff's patrol car and refusing to leave the main artery around the stadium minutes after the game ended.
There were 82 drunken-driving arrests in Tampa, Hillsborough County and St. Petersburg after the game, which was played in San Diego.
