Victory Parade Recap
Just got back from the parade – what a madhouse. Poppa Foges’ office is right near the parade route, and he called to tell me that the Broadway was packed hours before the first float even left Battery Park. At this point I was still getting the sleep dust out of my eyes, so I threw on my Yankee fitted and ran out the door. Sure enough, when I got off the R train at Rector street I was greeted by an ocean (not a sea, an ocean) of navy and white.
I battled my way through the crowd, running past a guy in a Phillies jersey (whaaaattttt) getting serenaded with expletive-laced chants. Only a person with some sick tendencies would show up to a championship parade in the losing team’s uniform. Strangely enough, this guy looked confused, as if he expected something else to happen. Definitely not from New York.
Anyway, this was my first championship parade in the canyon of heroes, and the first thing you notice is the noise. As I rounded the corner onto Church street, it felt like there was a war going on. The parade route is called “the canyon of heroes” because Broadway is literally like a canyon, surrounded on both sides by huge buildings. This means that the crowd noise echoes off those buildings, and the effect is almost indescribable. As some of the more popular Yankees went by you could feel the ground shaking. Awesome.
Some things I noticed: The loudest ovation went to Jeter, with honorable mentions for Mariano Rivera and Hideki Matsui. Nick Swisher also got a great reaction, mainly because he was taking pictures on his phone and looked like he was having the time of his life (a great example of why Swisher was so important to the team – his ability to relax and have fun made this the loosest Yanks squad in years).
There were conflicting reports on just how crowded the parade was. Two guys I talked to said there were people on Broadway at 2PM yesterday, but a passing construction worker said that was false. He said there was still free space around 6 this morning, and people really started pouring in around 7AM. Regardless of when people showed up, there was alot of them.
And based on my experience, more people = more characters. The crowd favorite in my section was “Godzilla” aka a drunk guy with a Godzilla stuffed animal on his back. The award for most intricate shaming of an opposing player went to “Who’s Your Daddy” – it was a guy carrying around a Phillies casket, complete with a Pedro baby and the infamous Post cover. I can’t properly describe either one, so you’ll just have to see the photos.
Overall, a great day. If a major sports team ever wins a championship in your city, file it under a sporting event you must see.
For more from Dan Fogarty, visit his blog Get a Job, Dan! Photo of Andy Pettite courtesy of Rodney.
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