(Yeah, that's a really unorginal lazy headline, but we're dehydrated and running on four hours of sleep. Deal with it.)
-Back in on a cold day in February, we posted this picture and wrote this:
"That's James Harrison holding up the A Vince
Lombardi Trophy. It's a spectacular piece of hardware but it's not the Stanley
Cup. There's 43 Lombardi Trophies. There's only one Cup. And we can't
wait to see it slowly proceeding down the Boulevard of the Allies on an
early June day in a convertible with the Great Mike Zigomanis.
Although, we guess he'd be the Conn Smythe Trophy winner so he might be
stuck with that award. Either way, a Stanley Cup parade with countless
folks in Evgeni Malkin jerseys and cargo shorts will have a tough act
to follow, but we think it's up to the challenge."
-Since a lot of things we write on here end up being total bunk, we'd wanted to point that one rare piece of brilliance.
-And we were right. Today's parade was up to the challenge:
We haven't seen an estimate, but the crowd at today's parade in honor of the Stanley Cup champions was right up there with the one for the Super Bowl champions back in February. And the amazing part of it was the relative youth of the crowd. We had a hard time finding anyone over the age of 30. The vast majority of revelers were under the age of 20. This was a day for the youth of Pittsburgh.
We knew something was up when we parked our car at the First Avenue garage near the Allegheny County Jail and saw a mother pulling her kids' blue Penguins jerseys up over their heads and wipe sunscreen all over them. We knew this wouldnt' be like the Steelers' parade in terms of the demographic it attracted.
That's what made us happiest today. The fact that so many kids were there cheering on this team. And that will go a long way towards building and growing a fanbase for the Penguins. If you're like us, you were in elementary or junior high when the Penguins won the Stanley Cup in 1991 and 1992. That hooked us on hockey for life. Regardless of what the team did, we were interested in the team and the sport. The Penguins of the early 1990s were to us what the Steelers of the 1970s were to a lot of our parents.
For these kids out here today, the Penguins of the late 2000s and early 2010s will mean the same thing to them. And a lot of them will be hooked on this team and this sport for the rest of their lives regardless of what success the franchise has.
-Some photos and observations. The police were a lot less liberal with allowing folks near the stage this time. For the Steelers' parade, they let just about anyone near it. Today, you had to have a parade specific credential to get near it.
-The crowd along Stanwix Street. Check out those folks who climbed the parking shed:
-The media stand:
-We love how everyone dresses "professionally" in black and gold garb. If you're going to sport those colors, just put on a jersey.
-The weather was amazing today. Not a cloud in the sky. In the 70s. A few folks seemed to have some issues with the sunshine and needed medical attention.
-The music was horrendous. All of it was classic rock. It was like they brought back Magic 97 and had that station pick the tunes. None of the music was geared towards anyone under 20.
-Somewhere Dick Ebersol is fuming. This was the gigantic video board set up behind the stage:
-Jean Pronovost jersey:
-Ken Wregget:
-The Guerin and Talbot clans riding towards the stage with the Prince of Wales Trophy:
-Everyone taking photos with the players on the stage:
-We were kind of disappointed only a handful of players and coaches talked or were introduced. During the Steelers' parade, every player was introduced and at least said something fairly basic it. We so wanted to hear the great Mike Zigomanis talk about faceoffs.
-Awesome shirt:
-Malkin had the Conny Smythe Trophy and put one of those hats in the shape of a penguin on the leaf portion of the trophy.
-Malkin's folks:
-Sidney Crosby signing autographs:
-Someone actually convinced Maxime Talbot's mom to grab a jersey and make her son sign it. Completely awesome moment.
-Dan Potash was in a car with Bob Errey and Paul Steigerwald and poured champagne on himself.
-Lots of "ONE MORE YEAR!" chants for Guerin.
-Malkin even started the chant then changed it to "TWO MORE YEARS!"
-Several of the players like Phillipe Boucher Jordan Staal and Chris Kunitz were running down the Blvd. of the Allies slapping five with fans.
-Petr Sykora actually limped down the Blvd. and slapped five. What a tough cookie.
-Hal Gill walked down the street with holding his daughters hand and slapping five.
-Talbot, who sounded like he had been drinking battery acid the past 48 hours, was doing jumping jacks at one point.
-Guerin actually let his kids sit on the front of his truck before the cops made him take them off. Nice parenting.
-Dan Bylsma reminded us a lot of Mike Tomlin in how much he enjoyed it. He let his hair down a bit and was really living it up with the fans.
-At one point, a PAT bus blocked the view for a lot of folks on Stanwix Street. That prompted a "MOVE THAT BUS" chant.
-Dan Bylsma might've had the line of the parade when he said, "City of Champions sounds a lot better than Hockeytown."
-Guerin on his trade from the Islanders, "Talk about... upgrading."
-That prompted a lot of laughter.
-Marc-Andre Fleury apologized to parents for saying "bad words" on television with kids watching. That was priceless.
-Broadcaster Phil Bourque pulled out the "Party on the river" line he used back in 1991:
-The Post-Gazette's parade story.
-Check out this amazing shot from the Post-Gazette's Bob Donaldson of Fleury and Crosby:
-Video of the start of the parade.
-Slide show.
-Video of Crosby and Fleury with the Cup.
-Fan video.
Posted
Jun 15 2009, 02:59 PM
by
Seth Rorabaugh