Editor’s note: Starting Tuesday, March 24, NESN will re-air memorable games from the Boston Bruins’ Stanley Cup run. Up next is the victory parade after beating the Vancouver Canucks in the Stanley Cup Final. See the full schedule by clicking here.
It’s time to party.
The Boston Bruins won the Stanley Cup on a Wednesday with a Game 7 victory over the Vancouver Canucks, and that Saturday they celebrated in the city with a massive parade.
Here are four things you might have forgotten about the parade, which viewers can watch at 8:30 p.m. ET Wednesday night on NESN.
1. The route wasn’t what we’ve grown used to
Because we’ve seen so many Red Sox and Patriots titles over recent years, it’s easy to forget that the Bruins parade route, unsurprisingly, was a little different than others.
Whereas the Red Sox have started at Fenway and made their way down Boylston Street to Government Center, and the Patriots essentially have done the same (except starting near Hynes Convention Center), the Bruins began at TD Garden. After starting on Causeway Street, the B’s made their way up through Government Center and ultimately ended in Copley Square.
2. There were so, so many people there
Given how long it had been between Stanley Cup wins, the Bruins unsurprisingly drew a pretty massive crowd for the parade.
In fact, police said that it was the largest victory parade outside of the 2004 Red Sox’s celebration. That’s no small feat considering there was another Red Sox title and the Celtics’ 2008 victory as well between 2004 and 2011.
And according to MassLive, there was so much traffic on the Mass Pike and the commuter rail that more people coming into town for the parade ended up missing it.
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3. Zdeno Chara biked to the parade
Considering how bad the traffic was, this probably was a prudent move on Chara’s end.
But there are some memorable photos of the B’s captain biking to TD Garden so that he could meet the team for the parade. Crowds had already gathered as he biked to the Garden, so he was met with massive applause and celebrated with fans.
4. Speaking of Chara, he actually got out of one of the duck boats during the parade
There were 18 duck boats used in the parade, and at one point Chara’s stopped and he got out. In doing so, he walked to fans and allowed them to touch the Cup before ultimately handing it off to Tim Thomas.
