Championship parades basically have become a seasonal tradition in Boston. And actually, the city never really has gone all that long without one of its four major sports teams bringing home a championship.
Boston’s longest championship drought came between the Celtics’ 1986 title and the New England Patriots’ first Super Bowl win in 2002. 16 years. Boston also went title-less between the Bruins’ 1941 Stanley Cup and the Celtics’ NBA title in 1957. Again, 16 years.
Not bad.
But the Bruins went 29 years without bringing home a Cup, until some youngster named Bobby Orr showed up.
Orr scored “The Goal” to bring the Stanley Cup back to Boston, clinching Game 4 of the Final against the St. Louis Blues to cap a sweep in 1970. The city later celebrated with a parade. Players sat in the back of convertibles driving down a mobbed Washington Street, with fans rushing right up to the cars.
A photo captured was one of Orr being mobbed, and it’s pretty incredible.
(You can look at the photo here)
That’s a little bit different than the parades Boston fans are accustomed to nowadays. Imagine being able to run right up to Tom Brady on a duck boat?
Of course, Orr and the Bruins would win another Cup in ’72, but it would 39 more years until the B’s won again in 2011 — which sparked another massive celebration in the city.
It’s been 118 days since Boston has won a title, so it’s safe to say fans are ready for another one.
