The role of a modern hockey player playing in the NHL is not easy and exhausting: from October to the end of April (at least) you have to play 82 games with short breaks. And only a few percentage points reach the ultimate goal of the Stanley Cup. Only after one of the teams wins the trophy do we, as ordinary people, get the funniest stories. Surely everyone remembers swimming in the fountain, Alexander Ovechkin, who walked for a long time towards his most cherished goal, and after achieving it, plunged into chaos. Or Nikita Kucherov, who is known for his closed character, but after winning the cup makes interesting performances: whether at a press conference naked to the waist with a can of foamy drink or sonorous words about the justice of awarding personal awards .
According to the glorious tradition of hockey, the celebration is not limited to the confetti on the ice rink on a victorious night, which gently flow until the glass is filled with champagne or another alcoholic beverage. A few days after the triumph, the champion team organizes a parade, where everyone can come and share the joy with those they have been supporting for years, or even decades.
As you can see, Florida’s victory was no exception and was accompanied by the same. Let’s see what happened at the Panthers’ championship parade, which certainly did not turn out to be boring or ordinary.
The day before the parade, it was announced that the scorer of the game-winning goal in Game 7, Sam Rinehart, would not be present at the celebration: “Cheers to the Panthers fans! What a week it’s been! The best week of my life.
We celebrated the victory all together, we definitely enjoyed it. I would like to talk about tomorrow’s parade, which I won’t be able to attend because my best friend is getting married. I can’t miss it and I have to be there. I will be with you in my thoughts.”
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Recently, in the southern state where the team is based, the weather has not been pleasant for local residents. For example, for the third game of the finals series, Florida arrived late because a storm hit Sunrise. Here it was not necessary, but the heavy rain that covered the city could have put the celebration in doubt. However, this was not the case: fans and players had been waiting for the Stanley Cup for so long that they did not fear the elements and took to the streets.
But it wasn’t just rain that poured down on the streets of Sunrise – beer and champagne too. There are doubts that at least one person in the square returned home clean.
Florida Championship Parade
Photo: Florida Social Media
In Australia there is a slightly eccentric tradition of drinking a drink from a shoe after a victory. It became famous thanks to the UFC fighter Tai Tuivasa, who after each victorious fight goes to the gym, takes someone else’s sneaker, fills it with beer and drinks it in front of the audience. It is not clear how Alexander Barkov and Anton Lundell were inspired, but, to the roar of the spectators, the Finns did it synchronously. And they were quite satisfied and happy.
The traditions of mixed martial arts were also supported by Matthew Tkachuk, only in a more classic version. The leader of the Panthers walked with a cigarette in his mouth and around his waist he wore a championship belt, which is always awarded for winning a title fight. Russian fans were able to see what kind of belt this is two years ago, when Colorado won the Stanley Cup and the happy Valery Nichushkin stood on it and posed. It would be nice to insert a photograph, of course, but it would not have passed the censorship, since the Russian was wearing nothing but this belt.
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Roberto Luongo, who did not win a cup during his playing career, encouraged the team in the seventh game with the help of a huge drum, which he beat frantically and rhythmically. He did the same yesterday at the parade, energizing the crowd with spectacle instead of bread.
Ryan Lomberg was not the main character of “Florida” and is unlikely to ever be one, as he does menial jobs that often remain behind the scenes. But he decided to try his share of glory at the parade, where he was literally passed from hand to hand, falling into the arms of the crowd, who carefully handed him over to those standing next to them. It’s good that it didn’t work out, as it happened with Talgat Zhailauov, who at one point was knocked down by Barys fans, injuring the Kazakh striker.
Paul Maurice, who this year was the most talked about coach in the league, did not mince words and once again gave reasons to talk about himself. The Canadian coach attended the parade wearing a t-shirt with the Panthers logo. There was only one nuance: instead of a panther, he had his cats, which quite moved the public, both on site and on social networks.
At the ongoing European Championship we were able to see what fanatical fans are willing to do for a photo with their idol. This was especially true, of course, in the case of Cristiano Ronaldo: some simply ran onto the field to touch one of the greatest athletes of the 21st century, and others even jumped from the stands. There were no such incidents here: a fan threw his phone at Dmitry Kulikov so he could take a selfie soaked in victory. It is unlikely that he thought then that in such weather his phone could sink into the darkness.
The highlight of yesterday’s parade, at least for Russian fans, was Sergei Bobrovsky wrapped in the Russian tricolor. The star of the current “Florida” has thrilled the media world, but not only that. Approaching the microphone, Sergei received several applauses and chants in his name, and then he made a penetrating speech: “On July 1, 2019, I signed an agreement with the Florida Panthers.” In my first interview, I was asked: why did I come to Florida? My answer was: because I want to win the Stanley Cup, and I will do it here! And now, five years later, we are celebrating the biggest victory in the history of the franchise. Together with you!
Watching the video of Bobrovsky’s speech, one could notice a rather interesting fact: in the crowd there was a man wearing a Novokuznetsk Metallurg t-shirt. The VHL team went directly to the NHL team’s championship parade.
It was a bit disconcerting to see the Florida social media, where there was not a single photo or video of Bobrovsky taking part in the parade. The Finnish Panthers, also wrapped in their side’s flag, did get some attention though. Quite a bit. Is there a political situation? Probably yes, because it’s hard to explain it any other way.
