Hundreds of thousands of Eagles fans flooded the streets of Philadelphia Thursday to salute the NFL team's upset Super Bowl victory over the heavily favored New England Patriots.

The ticker-tape parade began shortly after 11:00 am (1600 GMT) as masses of green-clad Eagles fans packed the City of Brotherly Love to cheer on their heroes despite freezing temperatures on an otherwise sunny day.

The underdog Eagles had never won a Super Bowl but covered themselves in glory by defeating the Patriots, 41-33.

Led by bikers, trucks and open-topped, double-decker buses carrying the players, the parade set off from the city's south side and was to make its way up Broad Street to the city center, the cradle of US independence.

The 4.8-mile (seven-kilometer) parade route goes past the city hall before ending at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, a landmark made famous by the movie "Rocky."

Tons of confetti will shower down on the players, including MVP quarterback Nick Foles and coach Doug Pederson, the heroes of the hour.

Cheerleaders and the team's eagle-headed mascot "Swoop" hurled Eagles T-shirts into the crowds, which had formed overnight.

Some players mixed with the cheering crowd. Fans cried and danced and gave the thumbs-up as the team passed by.

A video posted on Twitter showed dozens of young people dancing atop a garbage truck stopped at an intersection on Broad Street.