Thousands of Montrealers gathered downtown Wednesday to participate in a Grey Cup victory parade for the Montreal Alouettes.

The team captured the cup on Sunday at McMahon Stadium in Calgary, beating the Saskatchewan Roughriders 28-27.

Throngs of jubilant fans jammed Ste. Catherine St. during the lunch hour to cheer for their football heroes as they made their way down the street on flatbed trucks, hoisting the Grey Cup high in the air.

"We have fought long and hard for seven years to have another party in the streets and we thank you for giving this to us. This is unbelievable," said Montreal Alouettes general manager Jim Popp.

Larry Smith, the team's president and CEO, said the Alouettes are thankful for the loyalty of their fans.

"Because of you, we've had success," he said. "We're going to bring the cup home again next year."

Montreal Mayor Gerald Tremblay, who was with the team in the morning when they signed the golden book at city hall, told the crowd the team has done the city proud.

"Bravo and thank you to the Montreal Alouettes," said an enthusiastic Tremblay.

The loudest cheers came for quarterback Anthony Calvillo, who is in his 16th CFL season, and was named the league's outstanding player for the second straight year and third time overall.

"The one thing I remember about when we won in 2002 was the parade and I kept on telling the guys, 'Just wait until you see the crowd that comes out!' You guys did not disappoint, so thank you for the great memories and thanks for supporting us," said Calvillo.

Complete coverage

CTV Montreal provided special live coverage of the parade, with Mutsumi Takahashi, Randy Tieman and former Alouettes player Glen Keeble giving commentary throughout the 90-minute celebration.

Todd van der Heyden and Lori Graham were also out riding along the parade route, while sports reporters Brian Wilde and Andre Corbeil got reaction from fans in the crowd.

Watch the entire parade in our CTV News Video Player!

See some photos on MyNews.ctv.ca/Montrealsports!!