With an escort of police and fire department vehicles, the Westbrook’s Little League team bus rolled down Main Street Wednesday, then turned onto Bridge toward the team’s home field.

As the motorcade passed with lights flashing and sirens screaming, car horns beeped and local residents waved at the youngsters.

When the players finally set foot again on home soil, they were greeted by the cheers of hundreds of fans who turned out to congratulate the team for their performance in the Little League World Series.

“Do they think we’re the Red Sox or something?” asked Reid Coulombe, the team’s left fielder.

It was a welcome big enough to shake off, at least for a little while, the fatigue of three weeks away from home and a nine-hour ride from Williamsport, Pa.

When the last notes of Queen’s “We are the Champions” faded, each player was introduced amid more cheers. Mayor Bruce Chuluda was on hand, as were cameras from local television stations.

Gift certificates from local businesses were presented to the team, and the youngsters were invited to Fenway Park Tuesday, where they will be honored before that evening’s Red Sox game. They’ve also been asked to drop the puck at the Portland Pirates opener in October.

Throughout the reception, it was clear from the look on the boys’ faces that they really didn’t expect such commotion on their behalf.

“I only thought it’d be one-fourth of this,” said Tommy Lemay. “This is just humungous.”

“There’s a lot of people here,” Mitchell Chipman said. “It’s pretty amazing that they came here to see us.”

At one point, Zack Gardiner had no less than six young women around him, and one of them, Maura Quigley, offered a welcome back hug.

“We miss them so much. We’re all so proud of them,” said Quigley, 12, who is friends with Gardiner. “I’m so glad that they’re here so I can finally talk to them again.”

The team returned after three weeks on the road, first capturing the regional title in Bristol, Conn., and then moving on to Williamsport. The time away took its toll.

“To be honest, about half of us were homesick,” said Coulombe. “I miss my own bed, and I had to sleep with 11 other loud and smelly boys. I just wanted to come home.”

“It’s been a long three weeks,” said Sue Gardiner, whose twin sons Zack and Jake were both on the team. “We’re going to take them home, feed them and put them to bed.”

Manager Rick Knight said that the big turnout showed his players that the whole community was behind them.

“This tops off everything,” said Knight. “I think the kids were just overwhelmed when we pulled up and saw all these people. In fact, one said, ‘What are all those people doing here?’ I said, ‘They’re for you.'”

The city will further show its appreciation with a parade to honor the team on Saturday, beginning at 10 a.m.

“They’re a great bunch of kids. They really did the community proud down there,” said Fred Finocchiaro, father of the team’s pitching ace, Nick. “They played really good baseball and that was the reason they went, but they really showed what it means to be from Westbrook, Maine.”