A DAY FOR SOX FANS TO PAINT TOWN RED
Parade goers revel in World Series win
One of the greatest Red Sox teams of all time took its victory lap through the city yesterday, cheered on by hordes of die-hard fans who packed the sidewalks in downtown — many donning costumes and ducking out of work and school for the 2018 World Series celebration.
“Stuff like this keeps you young,” said Larry Wheeler, 76, a Lowell native who now lives in San Antonio, as he surveyed the crowd on Staniford Street near Government Center. “It’s been on my bucket list for a long time. I’m tickled pink.”
Fans began lining up on the parade route early yesterday, decked in jerseys, championship swag and Halloween costumes, some for the first time and others banking on years of Boston championship parade experience.
One fan — a painter working nearby who declined to give his name because he wasn’t sure it was OK for him to take a break — brought out a ladder, giving him an unobstructed view of the festivities. The painter said he got the idea from the 2001 Patriots parade, when his foreman took out a ladder and claimed the top spot, leaving the bottom rung for his subordinate.
“Nobody’s going to be in my way today,” he vowed.
As the crowd waited, Yankee-slamming chants and slurred renditions of Sweet Caroline broke out. One person took out a frisbee and began a sidewalk-to-sidewalk game.
As the duck boats started to roll by, windows on Boylston Street began to open
and office workers poked their heads out. Near the end of the parade on Staniford Street, fans donning Red Sox gear and Halloween costumes blasted music, waved banners and tossed tennis balls and footballs back and forth as they awaited the parade to reach its end.
The players and team employees paraded down the streets, with music blaring and confetti drifting in the air. Some of the playoff heroes, including David Price and Steve Pearce got the loudest ovations.
“They definitely drive us day in and day out, packing Fenway and showing up the way they do,” Price said. “We definitely feel the love and appreciation from them and want to show it back.”
Gary DeGregorio of New Jersey, a Yankees fan, put team loyalty to the side and attended with his Sox-loving daughter and grandkids.
“She’s a converted Sox fan, that’s a problem,” DeGregorio said.
DeGregorio fell back on a common tactic for non-Sox fans, opting for red clothing but refusing to wear a Red Sox logo.
“I had to get in the spirit,” he said.
Worth Walrod said, “This is awesome, I am a huge fan, I have lived here for 22 years and I have seen 11 championships from Boston and we are on pace, so when I am 80 we will have 40 championships. I am the most excited you could be, we have the best team to play the game of baseball, amen.”