Fans wait to see the NFL Super Bowl champions Green Bay Packers celebrate the "Return To Titletown" Celebration at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin February 8, 2011. REUTERS

GREEN BAY, Wisconsin - Thousands of exhausted but euphoric fans of the Green Bay Packers welcomed their cherished team home as Super Bowl champions on Monday after a nail-biting victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the biggest game in American sports.

Schools dismissed early and people took time off work to watch the National Football League champions travel from the airport to their home stadium, Lambeau Field, along a route that included Lombardi Avenue, named in honor of the legendary Packers coach Vince Lombardi, for whom the Super Bowl trophy is named.

Fans who spent Sunday night partying picked up right where they left off Monday morning, showing up hours early for the parade. They jammed Lambeau's atrium and clogged the stadium's pro shop as they bought piles of Super Bowl gear and memorabilia. To make room, the team finally had to herd shoppers and visitors into a line that stretched outside the stadium.

By early afternoon throngs of fans in cheeseheads _ their state of Wisconsin is famous for its cheese _ green and gold beads, jerseys and Packer parkas jammed the team's route, transforming the streets into human trenches.

A house across the street from the stadium _ Lambeau Field famously sits in the middle of a residential neighborhood _ blared Queen's "We Are The Champions." Fans broke out in spontaneous chants of "Go Pack Go!" and mugged for television news crews.

The crowd's cheers rose to a roar as the team's buses neared the stadium. News helicopters buzzed overhead. Players and other team officials could be seen holding up video cameras from their seats, recording the moment.

Craig Umentum, 29, of Green Bay, dragged a green-and-gold wagon loaded with a case of beer to the stadium.

"The title is home, baby!" Umentum yelled, his voice still hoarse from screaming during Sunday night's game. "Whoo! Where it belongs! Green Bay, baby!"

Joni Hamalainen, 25, of Helsinki, Finland, arrived in Green Bay on Friday to watch the game. A longtime Packers fan, he said he considered going to the Super Bowl but it was too expensive. Instead he journeyed to Green Bay _ alone _ and watched the game with hundreds of new friends at the Stadium View Bar and Grill.

"It's a dream trip," he said as he waited for the motorcade to arrive.

The arrival was over quickly, though; the players didn't make any formal public appearances on Monday. The real party is set for Tuesday afternoon, when the Packers are expected to stage a public rally at Lambeau. Gov. Scott Walker, who proclaimed February as Green Bay Packers Super Bowl championship month, was expected to attend.