Electric.
That’s the first word to come to mind from yesterday’s Stanley Cup parade in downtown Pittsburgh.
As one of the estimated 450,000 fans that packed downtown Pittsburgh to welcome back the champions, I can truly say that it was an incredible experience.
As me and my group of friends made it off of the T downtown, the sheer amount of people that were already there at 10 AM was a sight to behold.
It was as if a sea of black and gold had overtaken every street, and this isn’t an exaggeration.
As we tried to make our way towards where the stage was set up at the end of the parade, it became clear that we weren’t going to get anywhere near there: good luck wading through a sea of people already 11 rows deep.
We eventually made our way to the start of the parade route, and posted up across the street from the Federal Building with front row seats.
Chants of “Let’s Go P
ens” began to fill the air around 11:30, and shortly after the trucks and vehicles hauling the Stanley Cup Champions began making their way downtown.
The first major pop from the crowd began when Olli Maatta came through, f
ollowed by Brian Dumoulin and Justin Schultz.
One of the loudest roars however was when the truck carrying fan favorites Marc-Andre Fleury and Pascal Dupuis came by.
As the trucks rolled through, the crowd was cheering nonstop, highlighted by a woman who darted into the parade to give a laughing Chris Kunitz a high five.
But it was when the crowd caught that glint of silver that it became a madhouse.
The Stanley Cup, accompanied by Sidney Crosby, gave me goose bumps as it went by.
It was just for a brief moment, but man, that was something I’ll never forget.
That was the moment that it really hit home: the Pittsburgh Penguins are Stanley Cup champions, and you were witnessing history.
The amazing amount of people showing their support yesterday just reinforced the idea that when you play and Pittsburgh sports team, you literally play the entire city.
And yesterday, the Penguins saw that firsthand.
Welcome back to the Steel City, Lord Stanley.
By: Andrew McDermott
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