Blues Parade: was rained out. They didn’t seem to mind.
A little liquid sunshine couldn’t stop the long-suffering hockey fans in St.
Louis from ecstatically celebrating their team’s first-ever Stanley Cup win after 52 years.
About 500,000 people were expected to attend Saturday’s downtown march and demonstration at the Gateway Arch, according to the city’s director of special events.
Following that, The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford claimed that municipal and team officials updated their prediction to “much than one million.”
It was to be expected from a support that had turned out in force as the Blues’ improbable playoff run came to a triumphant end.
Last Wednesday, when their club played Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final in Boston, demand for tickets to the watch party in St.
Louis outstripped the capacity of the Blues’ home at Enterprise Center.
The Cardinals of St. Louis have opened the doors to Busch Stadium.
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According to Bloomberg, Blues supporters set a new NHL record for championship gear and memorabilia purchases in the 12-hour period following a championship, beating the previous best set by Washington Capitals fans in 2018.
Game 7 also set a new record for the most-watched NHL game on any network since ratings data began to be compiled in 1994, with nearly nine million people. The St. Louis market attracted a large audience.
According to NBC Sports PR, the market’s 41.8 rating outperformed the 2019 Super Bowl’s (39.8) viewership, which featured a game between the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Rams, a team that left a lot of grudges behind when it migrated from St. Louis in 2016.
“St. Louis is failing in comparison to all other U.S. cities,” Rams owner Stan Kroenke stated in his relocation application to the NFL, adding that he didn’t think the market could support three professional leagues (NFL, NHL, MLB).
The St. Louis Cardinals have a successful tradition in baseball that has won them long-term support from the community.
The Blues’ triumph, on the other hand, is instilling a greater feeling of pride in the town.
After the Blues’ parade, Joan Niesen of Sports Illustrated said, “Winning was what the Cardinals did, and it was fun, but those championships felt like little more than baseball.” “This one seemed like a second chance.”
Last year, the Washington Capitals celebrated their Stanley Cup victory with a wild celebration that included players swimming in fountains and drinking beer through their T-shirts.
The Blues came even closer to the crowd this year, ditching their trucks along the parade route to high-five, snap selfies, and just jump for excitement.
The parade concluded off an emotional postseason journey that included 11-year-old Laila Anderson kissing the Cup on the ice with the Blues after her doctor gave her permission to come to Boston for Game 7 or gambler Scott Berry, who won $100,000 after a $400 wager in January.
Let’s not forget “Gloria,” the 1980s pop hit that became the Blues’ triumph anthem after a night out in Philadelphia in January, when they were at the bottom of the NHL standings.
There was 52 years of history beneath it all, as well as a long list of former Blues who stayed in the town after their playing days were done. Brett Hull.
The franchise’s leading goal scorer, demonstrated his ability as a hype man by energising the fans before home games.
Darren Pang and Kelly Chase, former players who became announcers, were seen all over the place.
Bob Plager joined the expansion club in St. Louis for the first time in 1967. He stayed with the squad for 11 years
Including the three Stanley Cup Final appearances between 1968 and 1970, when the Blues were swept 4-0 each time.
Plager stayed with the Blues after his playing days were done. He now works as a team ambassador and volunteers in the. community at the age of 76.
During the playoffs, he was said to have spent the majority of his time walking the hallways of Enterprise Center’s press box, too frightened to watch.
When Conn Smythe Award winner Ryan O’Reilly was acquired in a trade last summer, Plager rightly predicted a franchise turning point.
“When the Blues debuted their new third jerseys last August, Plager handed one to O’Reilly,” ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski said.
“’You know, I need my parade,’ Plager recalled whispering to him. ‘Well, we’re going to get you one,’ he said O’Reilly replied.
“‘You have someone like O’Reilly who comes in at the beginning of the year. He played every shift,’ Plager added.
‘He doesn’t cheat in his game. Some of the players picked up on this. They noticed how you should be playing.’ ”
Plager got his parade on Saturday, and it well surpassed his expectations.
Plager told The Athletic, “I said we’d have a tremendous parade and it’d be the biggest there’d ever been in St.
Louis, but it was a much bigger.” “Anyone who claims St. Louis isn’t a sports town should come visit us.”
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