Inside
Fans stream out to cheer crown and to consider more to come
⏩ Al Saracevic: Madness on the streets of Oakland — in a very happy way.
The Warriors threw a street party in Oakland on Tuesday, and throngs of their besties showed up.
Gone were the usual speeches and politicians, the pomp and circumstance. In their place was a straight-up celebration of Golden State’s third NBA championship in four years. And if anyone was worried that fans were getting jaded, he or she clearly didn’t take a stroll down Broadway on this particular day.
I did, and it was madness. Throngs lined the streets of the East Bay’s de facto capital, sitting on bus stops, leaning out of windows, all screaming and chanting. There wasn’t much work getting done from what I could see. Construction workers lined up in their unfinished buildings, floor after floor, screaming down at their heroes in blue and gold.
Although the team did cancel the usual speechifying that comes at the end of most pro sports championship parades — and thank goodness it did — the Warriors decided to sit down and talk beforehand.
In a televised pregame show, held at the parade staging area, owners, players and coaches all
talked about the season they had just completed. It was all sunshine and smiles, until general manager Bob Myers stepped in a bit of controversy.
Asked if he really would give Finals MVP Kevin Durant anything he wanted when it came time to extend his contract — as the GM had said the day before — Myers joked that only two-time league MVP Stephen Curry deserves that kind of treatment.
“That was different, he’s been here since the way-before days. He’s earned it,” said Myers.
The small crowd that was assembled groaned and booed. The emcee cracked wise about how that moment would be remembered as the beginning of team dissent. And Durant sat there shaking his head, feigning disbelief.
It was a lighthearted moment, with some serious undertones. Durant has been vilified outside the Bay Area ever since he signed with the Warriors, charged with the crime of joining an established, championship team. Criticized for chasing rings.
Well, if that’s the offense, Durant stands convicted. And his teammates couldn’t be happier. Neither could Golden State’s fans.
Minutes after the pregame festivities ended, the usual parade of cars and trucks and double-decker buses rolled to the corner of 10th Street and Broadway, then took a left turn straight into insanity. Where else can you see a troop of break dancers, Rick Barry in a convertible and shirtless NBA players spraying Champagne on the crowd.
Only in Oakland. Only for the Warriors.
The crowd seemed just as loud as 2015 or 2017. It compared favorably to the massive parades we witnessed when the Giants also won three World Series titles. By all accounts, the Bay Area loves a parade.
And so does Nick Young, apparently. The man better known as “Swaggy P” lived it up on the streets of Oakland. Paired up with JaVale McGee on his double-decker, the 11year NBA veteran fully embraced his first-ever championship. Young might not be back next season, so it was nice to see him get his money’s worth.
The crowd was chanting “Swaggy! Swaggy!” for the charismatic guard, so he ripped off his shirt, grabbed a bottle of bubbly and joined his adoring fans in the streets. He was spraying people with Champagne, dancing with a massive blue-and-gold balloon baton in hand, taking selfies with the crowd and generally having more fun than any man should.
He wasn’t the only member of the Warriors who took to the streets. In what was clearly a concerted effort to connect more with the fans, almost all of the team spent time glad-handing the crowd, from Steve Kerr to Curry to Durant to Swaggy. Rookie center Jordan Bell might have embraced the idea just a bit too much, when he jumped the police barrier and went into the crowd, looking to re-up his supply of cognac. Call it Bell’s Hennessy high jump.
It was all in good fun, and the throngs clearly appreciated it. So did the players.
It’s one big love affair between this team and its fans. And there’s no sign of things slowing down.
“I never really imagined that we would be having one parade, let alone two and now three,” Curry said. “This is for you guys. This is why it’s so special to be playing in the Bay Area, in front of you fans, all of Dub Nation. We’re going to try and get greedy and go get some more.”