Friday morning I got myself downtown to Broadway to do some reportage of the Yankees Victory parade up the ‘canyon of heroes’. I hopped on the #4 train and went to the Wall Street station, where this sight met my eyes – – –

The Yankee fans were lined up five deep already! I maneuvered myself into a third row position and held tight for two and a half hours until the parade was scheduled to start. Really though, the crowd was the main event. They were screaming, yelling, drinking (that early?!) and generally carousing by the time I got there. Paper was flying, and when this wayward taxi-cab made it’s way down Broadway, it was greeted with jeers, catcalls, rolled up wads of newspaper, confetti, and rolls of toilet paper!

A little boy hurled a roll of toilet paper clear across Broadway and the crowd was cheering so loudly for him that his dad lifted him up to receive the adulation! Everyone was getting into the act. When a man appeared in one of the office building windows wearing a Mets shirt, the woman next to me yelled out, “look at that Mets fan – give him the finger everybody!!” Which they promptly did! I even saw a Grandma encouraging her grandsons to get into the act…

The man at the left was stoic through the whole episode.
Finally, the floats started to show up. Many floats with un-identified riders, causing the crowd to shout out, “Who are you? Who are you?” but finally, the MVP – Matsui – came up Broadway, looking cool and reserved, waving to the crowd:

The crowd went crazy for him!! A personal favorite of mine was Mariano Rivera, also looking cool and quite suave in an overcoat and silk scarf. He rode up the Canyon of Heroes waving an American flag:

But as quickly as it began, it was over, and the last float went it’s way up Broadway, showered by a storm of confetti and emotion…

Great season – looking forward to another one like that next year with the Bronx Bombers!!
Go Yankees!

(all drawings are copyright 2009 by Veronica Lawlor.)