FOXBORO, Mass. (AP) – Thousands of red-white-and-blue clad Patriots fans braved bitterly cold weather Sunday to send off the team before they headed to Houston Sunday, a week before the Super Bowl there against the Carolina Panthers.

A smaller but just as loyal crowd was in Houston to greet the New England team when they arrived in the Lone Star State, the team spokesman said.

“It’s a lot warmer, so they’re dressed a lot differently then what we saw upon departure,” said Stacey James, Patriots spokesman.

The near-zero temperatures in Foxboro didn’t deter the crowd of hundreds of bundled-up fans who started gathering in the morning behind barricades at Gillette Stadium, holding up signs, flags and banners to bid goodbye to the team.

The crowd erupted as team members one by one walked to board the buses, which were to take them to Logan Airport in Boston. From there, the team flew on a Delta Airlines charter plane to Houston.

Quarterback Tom Brady waved and smiled to the wildly cheering crowd as he carried his luggage to the bus and stepped in the door.

James said many other players taped the crowd at Gillette on their camcorders.

It’s the second time in three years that fans have waved off the Patriots to the Super Bowl. In 2002, the Patriots stunned fans with a 20-17 victory over the St. Louis Rams when Adam Vinatieri punted a 48-yard field goal as time expired.

For the 2004 Super Bowl, several Patriots are returning to a state they once called home, including running back Antowain Smith, who attended the University of Houston; special teams specialist Larry Izzo, who went to Rice; and David Givens who spent high school years in Humble, Texas.

The team will spend much of the week preparing for the Sunday match against the Panthers.

“You do as best you can to simulate a week of game preparation,” James said.

But he added there’s a difference in the typical playoff week than in the regular season. For instance, on Tuesday’s scheduled press availability, players and coaches will meet with thousands of reporters for pre-game interviews compared to a considerably smaller locker room crowd for the regular season.

“You couldn’t do an open locker room, it’s an open side line,” James said.

As the week progresses, James said the players will also have a curfew.

AP-ES-01-25-04 1956EST