One million Warriors fans get loud — again
A departure from traditional championship parades — no rally — didn’t diminish the enthusiasm in this interactive event as players stepped out among the Oakland crowd
OAKLAND >> Talk about spoiled. Around every bend of the Golden State Warriors parade route Tuesday, jubilant fans got face-to-face with the NBA champs, splashing in Champagne as confetti rained down, on another sun-soaked celebration in the streets of downtown Oakland.
It was love at first sight, again. Out of sight? When this historic era for Bay Area basketball fans ends.
“We’re going to get greedy,” star Stephen Curry said, surrounded by three NBA Championship trophies, “and go out and bring home a few more of these.”
An estimated 1 million fans flocked to Oakland to see Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Kevin Durant, four days after the Warriors swept the Cleveland Cavaliers and became back-to-back champions for the first time in franchise history.
Long before the 11 a.m. start, fans around the Bay Area awoke early to ensure a prime vantage point on the 1.4mile parade route. One Twitter user claimed to have driven from Utah for the festivities.
Super-commuter Hector Peraza left his home in the Central Valley at 3 a.m., arriving at Jack London Square at 6 a.m. “Since I did it two times already, I kind of got the hang of it,” he said.
Billed as an interactive parade without a rally, Warrior players broke from the traditional script, climbing off their floats to high-five, hug and take selfies with fans. A shirtless JaVale McGee lifted a child out of the crowd and above his head.
Curry ditched his security detail and went off route, sprinting up and down 17th Street. Zoe Davis, a Detroit transplant living in Antioch, screamed after Curry touched her arm.
On 20th Street, a fan fed barbecue to a cigar-chewing Andre Iguodala. Before the parade, rookie Jordan Bell tweeted he made a rookie mistake — he forgot to stock enough booze. A half bottle of cognac soon emerged from the crowd.
Layah Chhy, 8, of Modesto gushed after catching a T-shirt thrown by Klay Thompson. The experience was “amazing,” Layah said, while sitting high atop the shoulders of her uncle,
Parade
Michael Williams. She plans to hang the shirt on her wall.
“She’s so excited, so I’m excited,” Williams said. “And that was the ultimate goal, to get her something.”
At the corner of 11th Street and Broadway, El Sobrante resident Carissa Quintana lost her mind.
“I touched his arm. I touched his back!” she said, referring to shooting guard Nick “Swaggy P” Young, who mirrored his breakthrough role on the team as an animated force on the route. “Oh my word!”
To be fair, she exhibited nearequal enthusiasm for the subsequent appearances of team owner Joe Lacob and general manager Bob Myers. “Ahhhhh! I’m going to say hi to everybody!” she squealed.
Antioch resident Percy Despanie was a little disappointed there was no rally this year. The San Francisco native has long been a fan of the team, but the parade, he said, “could have been a lot better.”
“Oakland doesn’t have enough money,” Despanie said. “When they go to San Francisco though, it will be good. We’re gonna have a big parade.”
Oakland on display
The recent upswing of downtown Oakland, its East Bay flavor and its cast of characters — including rapper E-40 — once again was on full display. Cranes from a high-rise project hung high above flying confetti; workers with the best seats available paused construction to gaze below.
Mayor Libby Schaaf, wearing two official championship rings, and MC Hammer shot flames from a Burning Man flame-spouting snail car. In front of them, 15
local youths tore down Broadway on brightly colored “scraper bikes” to honor “Tall Paul,” a West Oakland man who built bicycles for children and died of lung cancer in May.
“He’s gonna always be remembered,” Antonio Moore, 24, said of Paul, whom the kids seemed to revere just as much as MVP Kevin
Durant.
Getting to Oakland was no fast break. As of 2:30 p.m., BART reported 266,939 passenger exits near the parade, down 8 percent from the previous year at 289,537. Getting out wasn’t any easier: Aerial shots showed a longline snaking outside Lake Merritt BART.
Despite the crush of fans, Oakland police reported no arrests, citations or vandalism. The heat, which reached 77 degrees in downtown but felt much hotter, resulted in numerous medical calls, mostly heat-related, city spokeswoman Karen Boyd said.
Unlike clashes over the years during political protests, Oakland native Rahiem Jihad noticed the vibe between the dozens of police officers and the crowd was relaxed. At one point, he saw officers playfully toss back a huge inflatable ball that drifted onto the parade route.
“It’s a time to breathe,” the 36-year-old said. “It’s a time to chill. It’s a time to soak up everyone that’s around you and appreciate them.”
Some fans might feel pangs of nostalgia when it hits them that the team will be making its swan song in comfortable, noisy Oracle Arena during the 2018-19 season. A giant, gold Chase bank-sponsored basketball reminded East Bay residents the days at Oracle are numbered. Come October 2019, the Warriors will play in the Chase Center in San Francisco.
The thought hung in the back of Germaine Williams’ mind. His friend, Jeremy Allen, put it this way: “Every time an Oakland sports team gets good, they take it away. So it’s just apparent that’s what’s happening.”
Otelima Abraham, 41, was having none of that. As an immigrant from Nigeria, Abraham saw a bigger picture in the Warriors’ success. She said throwing herself into Warriors fandom helped her feel more at home in the U.S. after moving to San Francisco five years ago.
“The Bay Area is the best place to be on earth right now,” said Abraham, who sported a massive blue Afro wig. “Everyone here is happy — where else are you going to find that in the world?”