The Chicago White Sox

CHICAGO -- The Chicago White Sox haven't hosted a championship celebration since World War I began, but on Thursday the team got a good taste of what Friday's party will look like.

A parade-type atmosphere greeted the newly crowned World Series champs upon their return to Chicago at Midway International Airport. Gathered behind police barricades, a crowd of at least four to five people deep stretched for nearly four city blocks along 63rd Street to cheer on the players and coaches as they drove away with the World Series trophy.

The formal celebration is set for Friday, with a parade at noon CT in the Loop followed by a fan-appreciation rally.

When the Sox touched down, it was nearly 16 hours after the team clinched its first World Series since 1917, but the excitement and enthusiasm from the fans had yet to wear off. Hoisting signs and decked out in their new championship gear, the fans continued the celebration with their chants and cheers upon the team's arrival.

Martin Arbide, 36, brought his 5-year-old son, Martin Jr., down to the welcoming party to create memories of this special moment in Chicago sports history. A lifelong Sox fan, Arbide wanted his son to take part in something that most South Side fans had never witnessed.

"We couldn't get tickets to any of the games, because they sold out so fast, so this was the next best thing for us to celebrate and see them," Arbide said. "I'm just hoping to see Ozzie, that's all I want."

Arbide wasn't the only fan who wanted to see manager Ozzie Guillen. The Sox skipper has been the most beloved of all the Sox this season and he wasn't about to disappoint the fans who had waited all afternoon for him to make an appearance.

Stopping his limo in the middle of 63rd Street, Guillen exited to the crowd chanting "Ozzie! Ozzie!" Surrounded by four police officers, Guillen walked up and down the crowded street with his limo driving beside him. He applauded the fans and threw his arms up to thank the fans for their support. The gesture was meant to give something back to the fans, but afterward it was the fans again thanking Guillen for all that he has done to support them.

"It shows how much he really loves us and the city of Chicago," Jon Gonzalez, 20, said. "To get out of the car, not just wave and drive by, but to really be with the fans showed all of us how much he really cares for the Sox fans."

Guillen's limo was one of the last vehicles to exit, but it was a much-anticipated finale to a long welcoming party. Some fans waited more than three hours to see each and every car of the White Sox players exit the side entrance of the airport at 63rd Street and Laramie Avenue. It was a slow procession that seemed to come in waves over an hour and a half.

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Mark Buehrle led the first procession of cars and, as has been the case all season with the energetic