A POWERFUL CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM

October 30, 2007 ... A skywriter spelled out "Red Sox Nation." Signs in windows over Tremont Street read "Thank Youk." Vendors sold brooms. And pitcher Jonathan Papelbon finally came out of his shell. All right, Papelbon didn't need a lot of prodding, not in his sunglasses and kilt, not as he played the air guitar, did a jig, and used a broom over the side of his flatbed truck to pretend he was rowing down the street.

Thronging the streets on a sparkling autumn day, Red Sox Nation cheered and chanted for its world champion team at a celebratory parade for the second time in three years. Rolling Rally II crowned a season in which victory seemed more destiny than magic. But if there were any doubts that a second World Series title would be as exhilarating, the fans erased them. From Fenway Park to Copley Square to the Boston Common to City Hall, the very air seemed jubilant. Children skipped school, and grown-ups skipped work, or at least lunch, to see their beloved club's victory tour.

The players, riding on a convoy of duck boats under cloudless skies, happily returned the love. Captain Jason Varitek waved the trophy. Manny Ramirez told the crowd he loved them. Papelbon reprised his Riverdance and played air guitar with the Dropkick Murphys. Jacoby Ellsbury gave the victory sign as Bobby Kielty sang, giddily off-key, into a microphone as his Duck Tour boat passed the Common. "Sweet Caroline!" the home run-hitting pinch-hitter sang. "Oh! Oh! Oh!" the delirious crowd bellowed back.

The 3-mile route was much the same as the one in 2004, except that this time it did not go into the Charles River. It passed from the Fenway to Back Bay along Boylston Street, alongside the Public Garden and the Common via Tremont Street and then down Cambridge Street to City Hall Plaza.

At Copley Square, fans crammed in 10 deep behind the interlocking metal barriers that lined Boylston Street, hoping to catch a glimpse of their favorite players and the World Series trophy. They squeezed onto the steps of the Boston Public Library, stood on newspaper boxes, lined the roof of the Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel, and even peeked out the upper windows of Old South Church. The crowd erupted as the first duck boat came into view.

If the 2004 Series was for the older fans who had long waited for the 86-year Curse of the Bambino to be lifted, this one was for the kids, the next generation. The decidedly youthful crowds yesterday seemed to testify to that, and their excitement about the team's newest players made them seem like the parade's biggest stars. Old-timers joined in yesterday's festivities, too. Thousands of all ages gathered at the corner of Commonwealth Avenue and Tremont Street, chanting, "Lets go Red Sox!"

But some fans were already thinking ahead to next year. As the duck boat carrying the team's top brass cruised by the Common. During the parade, catcher Jason Varitek weighed in on the issue by waving a "Re-sign Lowell" sign from the duck boat in which he was riding.

On the ground, the fans stood 20, 50, and 100 deep along the 35,000 feet of metal barricades that lined the 3-mile route. Teenage girls in pink caps swooned, college students had painted red faces, suburban dads held toddlers on their shoulders, and a cadre of shirtless construction workers waved brooms. From the boats, the players could read hundreds of signs, all with messages scrawled just for them. "Marry me, Jacoby." "Dustin, marry me." "I have a man crush on Dustin Ped." "Ellsbury is hot." "Marry us, Coco." "Josh Beckett, my new religion." "Mikey stay with us."

When The Dropkick Murphys launched into "I'm Shipping Up To Boston," and star closer Jonathan Papelbon danced, cigar in mouth and broom in hand like an air guitar, the crowd that could see the spectacle jumped up and down, sending a visible jolt of energy rippling through the larger throng.