06/20/26 11:00:00
Printable Page
06/20 10:58 CDT Hurricanes fans jam into downtown Raleigh for team's Stanley
Cup parade, celebration
Hurricanes fans jam into downtown Raleigh for team's Stanley Cup parade,
celebration
By AARON BEARD
AP Sports Writer
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) --- The Carolina Hurricanes brought their Stanley Cup
celebration to downtown Raleigh on Saturday, with thousands of fans arriving
hours early to line sidewalks for the team's victory parade or packing in near
the rally stage where the Hurricanes were set to cap off the festivities.
The team boarded double-decker buses to start the parade, which was set to
weave by the State Capitol building. And the Hurricanes players were greeted by
fans screaming, chanting, waving flags and wearing Carolina jerseys, still
buzzing from the franchise beating the Vegas Golden Knights last weekend to win
the Cup for the second time, the other coming in 2006.
Carly Goodman, 35, of Raleigh, was hard to miss in the front row behind
barricades in front of the stage where the parade would end with a rally. She
sported a red Sebastian Aho jersey, waved a large Hurricanes flag and was
blinged out with a silver "Stanley Cup" chain necklace.
She was drinking from a "beer skate," the novelty mug shaped like a Hurricanes
skate that sold out immediately during the Game 1 of the second-round series
against Philadelphia. She got up at 5 a.m. --- "Let my dogs out, they were mad
to get up," she said --- and made sure to head straight downtown hours in
advance to ensure a prime spot.
"It's been something special ever since 2006," Goodman said. "Raleigh's a small
market. We've got college sports, but this is epic. It's a team that everybody
can get behind. It breaks down all the barriers. Everyone just comes together
and smiles, no matter if you're a Duke fan, Carolina fan, whatever --- it
doesn't matter."
It was a longer trek for Scott Stiles, 60, and his son, Joey, 24. They weren't
about to miss the celebration even though they live in Concord, a city outside
of Charlotte known for its ties to NASCAR and other motorsports. So they hopped
in the car around 3 a.m. to make the 2 1/2-hour drive, arriving more than five
hours before the parade was scheduled to start and finding fans like Goodman
already waiting closer to the City Plaza stage.
The duo --- Scott in an Andrei Svechnikov jersey, Joey wearing a Seth Jarvis
one --- had chairs plopped in the middle of Fayetteville Street straight back
from the stage, their spot marked by a giant Hurricanes flag.
"When's the next time they're going to win a Cup?" Scott said, pausing as a
"Let's go Canes!" chant wrapped up. "They might win it again next year, who
knows? But we wanted to be a part of it."
___
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL
|
