Warriors Championship Parade: Players Share The Joy With Fans

OAKLAND, CA — Mac Dre and E-40 blasted in the streets of downtown Oakland today as the Golden State Warriors joined thousands of fans in celebrating the team's third NBA championship in four years.

The basketball stars were greeted with confetti, Silly String, clapping children hoisted on shoulders and fans swinging brooms to represent the Warriors' 4-0 "sweep" of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals. (Although brooms were officially not allowed at the parade because they could be used as weapons.)

Temperatures reached a peak of 85 degrees in the middle of the parade, but fans were undeterred waiting for point guard Stephen Curry and the rest of the team.

Barbara Lewis, 56, said she has lived in Oakland and watched the Warriors her whole life. She waited over an hour in the sun to see Curry, and said he's her favorite because "he's a gentleman, a family man, and he's takin' care of business."

Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and their teammates stepped down from buses to hype up the crowd in what the city called a more "interactive" version of the usual parade, which included a rally in previous years.

Vendors covered the sidewalks, selling hot dogs, umbrellas, T-shirts and fan gear. Many of them traveled from Southern California to work the parade route.

Most fans were Bay Area locals, thrilled to be supporting a dynasty that began growing in 2015 after the Warriors broke a 40-year dry spell to win the NBA Finals.

Dieudonne Brou, an Oakland resident, went to Lafayette Elementary School more than 20 years ago. The school is about a mile away from the parade route, and Brou said mentors would take his classmates to games when tickets only cost $30.

"The organization is in really good hands, with people who really want the team to win," Brou said.
He added that "nothing lasts forever" in sports, but it feels good to be a Warriors fan right now.

BART officials said as of early this afternoon that they had 221,777 systemwide exits today, which was down from 242,265 during last year's parade but up by 37,210 exits compared to last Tuesday.

— Bay City News; Image via Getty

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