Super Bowl champs return to another New England snowstorm

BOSTON — The New England Patriots arrived safely in snowbound Massachusetts on Monday night, following their dramatic 28-24 Super Bowl victory over the Seattle Seahawks in Arizona.

The team landed at Boston's Logan International Airport just before 7:30 p.m. local time and retweeted a message from running back Shane Vereen: "Boston! Your Champs just got home!! #hellosnow #itscoldbutourtrophieskeepuswarm."

Fans waiting in chilly temperatures outside Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, south of Boston, waited for hours just to catch a glimpse of their beloved team.

The team sat in charter buses at the airport for nearly two hours while crews unloaded their equipment and bags from the plane. By about 10 p.m., the caravan, led by a state police escort, reached the stadium.

Players returned to a region weathering another major workday snowstorm that brought over a foot of new snow on top of nearly 3 feet already on the ground in places. Coach Bill Belichick and several players greeted fans braving the cold as they arrived at the stadium.

Defensive end Chandler Jones tweeted: "Saw all of those @Patriots fans out there standing in the cold at Gillette just now! I had to come show love!Love all of you guys! #GoPats!"

The players were expected to clean out their lockers and pick up their cars before the night was over.

To be sure, not all the Patriots made the return journey.

Tight end Rob Gronkowski flew to Los Angeles on Monday for an appearance on ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live!"

Boston had initially planned a victory parade through downtown on Tuesday, but that celebration has been pushed back to Wednesday morning because of the weather.