It’s another party in Oakland
Bay Area parties with back-to-back champs
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 as confetti rained down, splashing in champagne, 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.”
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 as confetti rained down, splashing in champagne, 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 1.4-mile 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.
No rally, no problem
Billed as an interactive parade without a rally, Warrior players broke from the traditional script, climbing off their floats to highfive, 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 cigarchewing 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, 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.”
Toby Thompson, Las Plumas
P – Avery Croxall, East Nicolaus P – Kylee Potes, Las Plumas P – Sarah Reineman, Red Bluff C – Charli Hawkins, Anderson 1B – Akela Holder, Las Plumas 2B – Hallee Olsen, Fall River 3B - Aubrey Akins, Red Bluff SS – Jacelyn Parratt, Central Valley OF – Preslie Hewitt, East Nicolaus OF – Bailey Reid, Chico OF – Jen Sobrero, Paradise UT – Reegan Floyd, Lassen