If someone signaled from the Old North Church, nobody noticed. That’s because in this city called the Cradle of Liberty all eyes were fixed on the “bunch of idiots” who gave birth to a new nation – World Champion Boston Red Sox Nation – as they wrapped up a World Series week with a victory parade through the heart of Beantown.

A sea of people estimated at 3.2 million jammed Saturday’s parade route to cheer, yell and holler as their beloved Red Sox crossed the city aboard a flotilla of “Duck” boats.

The team traversed the city by sea and land along a three-hour parade route that ran from Fenway Park to the “dirty water” of the Charles River and back again.

Idiotic may have come to mind as the goofy – part truck, part landing craft – “Duck” boats, which normally carry gawking tourists who “quack” at pedestrians as they rattle across the pothole-pocked streets of Boston, were taken over by the ragtag group of long-haired and bearded players whose unwillingness to give up captured the hearts of fans everywhere.

On the streets, the team was greeted by multitudes, on the waters by a procession of sailboats, racing sculls, kayaks and powerboats. From the Esplanade on the Boston side to the riverbanks of neighboring Cambridge, fans of all ages pushed to the front to catch a glimpse of their heroes.

Throughout it all, Sox players of yesterday and today – their families, friends – waved and blew kisses to their fans. Manny, Millar, Johnny, Pedro, and the others, made pointing gestures and cheered along with the good-natured catcalls aimed at the team’s great rival, the New York Yankees.

From the Cambridge side of the Charles, a bagpiper could be heard playing the theme from “Star Wars,” an apparent musical reference to the “Evil Empire” from New York.

Red Sox nation is global, as evidenced by four men in the city on business from Arvidsjanr, Sweden. They were swept up in the World Series frenzy of the past week and could not believe their good fortune at finding themselves outside Fenway Park as the Duck boats rumbled past. All had bags of Red Sox memorabilia and all enjoyed the spectacle.

“Go Red Sox. I’m a Red Sox fan for life,” said Leif Carlson. “If you win again, I’m coming back. It was fantastic. The people were so nice and friendly but excited. I was so impressed.”

Down at the corner of Boyleston and Gloucester streets at Whiskey’s, bartender Alex Rapp said people began camping out in front at 4 a.m. When the barroom doors swung open four hours later, a line had formed waiting to pay the $10 cover charge.

“This is the greatest,” said Joey from the Cape. “We’ve been partying all week and will keep going tonight.”

Saturday’s wet and dreary weather was similar to that of a week ago when the Sox opened up the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals. Just like that day when the Sox got a late-inning win on Mark Bellhorn’s home run off the Pesky Pole, the conditions did little to dampen the enthusiasm of the fans.

Hours before the parade began, thousands were chanting “Here we go Red Sox, here we go,” and rhythmically clapping to “Let’s Go Red Sox, Let’s Go Red Sox.”

Aili Knight and her boyfriend, Elia Nichols, a pair of 26-year old Mainers from Bath, who arrived in the area late Friday, were on the first train to the city. Their faces were painted with Red Sox slogans and colors.

“We wanted to make sure we got a good spot,” said Knight. “I’ve been a fan my whole life. My grandfather took me to games when I was 8. I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”

Nodding in agreement were the couple’s friends, Mike Grassia and Taryn Bissel, both 25, from Salem, Mass., and both sporting painted faces.

“We’re getting married in Fenway Park next July,” beamed Bissel. “This is fantastic.”

Sue Chapin drove down that morning from Oakland with her daughters, Kristen, 21, Bethany, 16, and Erin, 12. Chapin said she arrived in the city at 4:30 a.m. and parked her car a few blocks away from the park. When she returned to fill the meter, she noticed the police had put up “no parking” signs.

“I almost cried,” she said. “I went and found another parking space, but I don’t know if my car will be there when I come back. I hope they don’t tow me, but it will probably be worth it.”

Kristen Chapin, a junior at the University of Maine, spent her summer doing community development work in Guatemala and still managed to see nearly every game.

“I found a bar, and the owner was a Red Sox fan,” she said. “I loved it. I had a Trot Nixon shirt, and the kids would follow me down the street hollering ‘Nixon, Nixon.’ It was fun.”

Paul and Vicki Xenakis drove up from Perth Amboy, N.J., on Thursday thinking the parade would take place on Friday. Part owner with his brother of a diner in the heart of Yankee country, Paul Xenakis became a die-hard fan when he emigrated from Greece in 1967, the year of the Impossible Dream.

“You don’t know what we have to go through dealing with those Yankee fans,” said Vicki Xenakis. “We’re talking the chief of police, the mayor, they’re all Yankee fans. We were going to hang a Red Sox flag outside, but we thought we’d lose customers.”

Despite the grief of being a Sox fan in a world of Yankees, Xenakis said her husband would rather have closed the diner on their busiest night of the week than miss the victory celebration.

“He wouldn’t go back to his own country for 37 years, but he came here,” she said.

As did millions of others. And they all showered their love on the Red Sox.