Crowds had jammed entrances to the rally site at Grant Park next to Lake Michigan since before dawn while some die-hard fans camped out there over night, ready to sprint to the big stage at the front of the park the minute police swung barriers aside. By the time buses delivered the players and their families, the park was packed.
Supporters along the parade route waved signs reading, “Thank you, guys” and, “Best 17 seconds of my life” — referring to the pair of goals scored just seconds apart in the final minutes of the Hawks’ 3-2 victory over the Boston Bruins on Monday night.
Some fans hauled homemade versions of the Stanley Cup, including one fashioned from an empty beer keg. Twenty-somethings Courtney Baldwin and Meghan O’Kane, from the city’s suburbs, slapped together their tribute to the trophy from a jumble of jugs and plastic bowls painted grey. Early in the morning, it was not yet full of frothy beverage.
“It will be this afternoon,” Baldwin said.