2015 World Series Victory Parade

The Kansas City Royals won the World Series on Sunday night and today was the parade to celebrate! I really wanted to go but Nathan had to work. My friend, April, is always up for a challenge and she convinced me that it would be fun for us to take the city bus downtown, with our three children, for the parade.

We met at a shady intersection to catch the city bus at 9am. It was the kind of area that I would normally lock my doors as I drove past. We got on the city bus at 63rd street and Troost. Troost is one of the worst streets in KC and if you watch The First 48, you will see it featured in every KC episode.

The bus was packed with people in Royals gear. We traveled from 63rd to 12th street and we passed through neighborhoods and areas that I would have never imagined that I would travel. But today was different - the city was united and there were families and every race walking down streets that are deserted and dangerous any other day. It took an hour to get downtown. The parade didn't start until noon so we let the kids play on the grass area in front of city hall. We had packed lunches (thank goodness because lines everywhere were insane) and April's husband, Ryan, met up with us right before the parade started.

 

 

I wasn't going to push my way to the front with Allison, so we all stayed back and accepted that we'd just be able to see what we could see. You know how it seems like no one is living life anymore because of social media and their phones? While, that was VERY evident today. Most players were videotaping the crowds, checking their phones, or talking on their phones during the parade. I couldn't believe their vanity! This is a once in a lifetime thing! I couldn't even get a good shot of Volquez. Also, most players had their families with them, and instead of giving a good view of the players, the women were sitting on either side of the players, blocking the view. Thankfully a few players stood up so we could see them better. The parade was very short - Royals staff, the mayor, the coaches, a few guys from the 1985 World Series win, and then the players and the trophy. There weren't any marching bands or balloon arches like there was in '85 but it was still a fun parade and I'm glad we went.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The final stop of the parade was at Union Station for a Royals Rally. The parade planner estimated that 250K people would show up, which is laughable because in 1985, 350K showed up! The actually number was over 750K so as you can imagine, the streets were overflowing, there weren't enough toilets or trash cans, there were lines for everything from buses to souvenirs.

Here is a 8am picture of Union Station, and a 2pm picture of Union Station. It's estimated that 500K people showed up for the rally! The highways were so busy that people were abanding their cars on the road and walking. Cars were parked everywhere - on every piece of grass,  under overpasses, and lots were so full that cars were put in completely blocking other cars. It was insane the amount of people that were there.

Schools and most jobs were closed, but Nathan was stuck a few blocks away at work. since we didn't go to the rally we thought we wouldn't hit much traffic. We got on our very crowded bus - here is a photo of us and the kids sitting on the FLOOR OF A CITY BUS because their were no seats and it took us 3 hours  to get home. The traffic was insane! I was so realized to get to my car, but Allison decided it was the perfect time to freak out since she didn't have a nap today. She screamed the whole way home and was a blubbering mess when we got their but refused to go to Nathan and only wanted "mummy hugs".

 I know she had a good time because she kept shouting ROYALS! and then clapping throughout the night.