It rained on the Blues香蕉视频直播� parade, but nobody seemed to mind.
Hundreds of thousands of people lined the streets of downtown St. Louis and braved the rain on Saturday to cheer on the Stanley Cup champs, who concluded the festivities with a packed rally beneath the Gateway Arch that began just as the sun popped out.
The Blues ended one of sports香蕉视频直播� longest championship droughts on Wednesday by beating the Boston Bruins 4-1 in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, the first title for a franchise that joined the NHL 52 years ago.
The long-awaited championship stirred strong emotions in St. Louis, a city still smarting from the departure of the NFL香蕉视频直播檚 Rams in 2016. The loss of the football team seemed to strengthen the fans香蕉视频直播� bonds to the Blues and their beloved baseball team, the Cardinals.
香蕉视频直播淚香蕉视频直播檓 so happy for the city and the fans here,香蕉视频直播� coach Craig Berube said. 香蕉视频直播淭hey deserve it. But more than anything I香蕉视频直播檓 so happy for our players, because of how hard they香蕉视频直播檝e played, the character and leadership coming through, winning that cup.香蕉视频直播�
Ryan Korte, a 56-year-old letter carrier from the St. Louis suburb of Belleville, Illinois, said he wasn香蕉视频直播檛 sure he香蕉视频直播檇 ever get to see the Blues win the cup.
香蕉视频直播淚 was starting to wonder,香蕉视频直播� Korte said as he waved a towel while standing on a ledge, straining to see the parade. 香蕉视频直播淎 lot of disappointments. They香蕉视频直播檝e had some good teams and they always let us down.香蕉视频直播�
Not this time.
香蕉视频直播淭his is bigger than the World Series,香蕉视频直播� Korte said.
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That may sound strange in St. Louis, which has long been considered a baseball haven thanks to the Cardinals香蕉视频直播� 11 World Series titles. It sure looked like a hockey town on Saturday, though, as fans shouted 香蕉视频直播淟et香蕉视频直播檚 Go Blues!香蕉视频直播� and danced to 香蕉视频直播淕loria,香蕉视频直播� the 1982 Laura Branigan hit that became the Blues香蕉视频直播� unofficial victory song.
Forward Ryan O香蕉视频直播橰eilly, who won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of this year香蕉视频直播檚 playoffs, carried the Stanley Cup to fans lining Market Street to let them touch it.
香蕉视频直播淭he Blues have an amazing fan base,香蕉视频直播� said Michael DeHeer, 52, of St. Louis. 香蕉视频直播淭his place is ready to explode.香蕉视频直播�
It has been quite a journey since the Blues joined the NHL in 1967 as one of six expansion teams that year that doubled the size of the league. The original six teams were kept in one division, the six new teams in another, ensuring that an expansion team would play for the Stanley Cup.
The Blues loaded their roster with aging veterans and it paid off: They played for the Stanley Cup in each of their first three seasons. They didn香蕉视频直播檛 win a game, though, going a combined 0-12 in those three series.
What followed was a 49-year stretch in which the Blues didn香蕉视频直播檛 make the finals 香蕉视频直播� a drought made even more remarkable because the team only missed the playoffs nine times during that span.
This year香蕉视频直播檚 season didn香蕉视频直播檛 start out promising, as a sluggish start got coach Mike Yeo fired in November.
Craig Berube took over as interim coach 香蕉视频直播� a title he still holds, though the interim tag is expected to be lifted soon. Improvement didn香蕉视频直播檛 come immediately 香蕉视频直播� the Blues were dead last in the standings on Jan. 3, the middle of the season. Days later, an unheralded rookie goaltender named Jordan Binnington was called up. He won his first game in a shutout.
Soon, with Binnington taking over as the lead goalie, the Blues went on a franchise-record 11-game winning streak and stayed hot through their playoff run.
Binnington, known for his calm demeanour, finally let loose Saturday.
香蕉视频直播淵ou want to see some (expletive) emotion?香蕉视频直播� he asked the rally crowd. 香蕉视频直播淲e香蕉视频直播檙e Stanley Cup champions, baby!香蕉视频直播�
The Blues joined a list of other sports franchises to recently end long championship droughts. The Chicago Cubs香蕉视频直播� win in the 2016 World Series ended a 108-year run of futility. The Philadelphia Eagles won the 2018 Super Bowl, their first championship in 58 years. Last year香蕉视频直播檚 Stanley Cup winners, the Washington Capitals, won for the first time since joining the NHL in 1974.
Jim Salter, The Associated Press
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