Nearly 12 hours before the start of the Chicago Blackhawks Stanley Cup Parade, a group of red and black clad fans crowded on top of sleeping bags at the corner of Michigan Avenue and Wacker Drive.
Joe Navarro-member of the Grant Park Staff-explained that people walked by his office as he was closing his doors at 10 p.m., carrying parkas, pillows and food and beverages in preparation for the night ahead.
“It was insane,” Navarro said. “I left work and the Hawks faithful had already taken to the streets, setting up camp hoping to get a good view of the parade. It was only a little after 10 p.m.”
A hot and humid sun dawned last Friday as 2 million more Hawks supporters joined the overnighters, generating an unbelievable attendance total.
The Mayor’s Office of Special Events said the crowd was bigger than that for Chicago White Sox World Series celebration in 2005. Spokeswoman Cindy Gatziolis said 1.75 million came for the baseball celebration and speculated that school being out for summer helped draw more people this time around, according to ESPNChicago.com.
From the stage erected at the end of the parade route, Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews squinted out at the crowd and exclaimed, “I didn’t know there were this many people in Chicago!”
The remainder of the parade was a gigantic party. People danced in the streets, waved flags and sang the Fratellis’ “Chelsea Dagger” all day.
The procession began 10 minutes before noon with a video montage of Blackhawks history followed by a group of bagpipe players guiding the multiple red double deck buses down Washington and Michigan Avenues.
Teammates, alongside several announcers, former players, Mayor Richard Daley, Gov. Pat Quinn, filled the tops of the buses, with Toews and Patrick Kane holding the Stanley Cup on the back of the final car.
The players, who continued a party that began following their game six victory in Philadelphia, were all smiles when they took the stage.
“Who knows a good dentist, by the way?” asked defenseman Duncan Keith. After losing seven teeth in the series clinching victory of the Western Conference finals, he was all gap-toothed smiles on Friday.
Joking continued as Patrick Sharp raised his cell phone and asked the crowd if they wanted Kane’s phone number. Later, Kane himself exclaimed that nobody would see him shirtless in the off-season and declared his love for all cab drivers, alluding to separate of-the-ice incidents earlier this year.
Fans laughed, screamed and even shed a tear at the sight of the Hawks holding Lord Stanley’s hardware.
“It’s an amazing moment for Chicago,” said student Mona Gava, her eyes welling up. “The city has waited so long for this and these kids played their hearts out for over 100 games. It was a truly remarkable sight.”