Steph Curry yells during rally, ‘This what it’s about’
The Golden State Warriors’ championship parade on Monday could prove to be one of BART’s busiest days in history — a one-day godsend for the transit system that’s struggled throughout the pandemic. The parade also is turning a spotlight on one of San Francisco’s most important arteries, Market Street, amid hopes that putting its best foot forward may help the downtown business artery on its path to pandemic recovery. Starting at 11:20 a.m., the parade is to wend its way from Market and Main. Here’s what you need to know about what and where, and how to get there.
Parade rolls down Market Street
Double decker buses full of Warriors’ players and their families, and livery in blue and gold, rolled down Market Street as fans roared and confetti cannons fired overhead. The buses were crowned with the team’s golden Larry O’Brien trophies, one of which Draymond Green held overhead, shimmying happily as the buses plowed through a carpet of confetti on the street. Gary Payton Jr. had stripped to the waist and was firing a water gun from the deck of a bus as fans howled joyously. Before long he jumped off the bus and began high-fiving delighted fans over the metal parade gates.
Up at 5 a.m. but worth it
Elizabeth Hansen and her boyfriend Roger Cortes woke up at 5 a.m. in Brentwood to get to Market Street and snag a viewing spot at the end of the Warriors parade route. By the time the parade was starting down at the other end of Market, some time later than the promised 11:20 a.m. start, Hansen said she was “hot, hungry, tired.” But she was proud of the team she’d grown up watching her whole life, and Klay Thompson’s recovery from injury, she said, “made me even more proud to be his fan.”
MVP in the parking category
Laurie Anderson, 57, of San Francisco, deserves parade MVP for finding a parking spot near the parade. She drove to downtown on Sunday to case the starting parade area for a spot and found a $20 garage near Market and Main. “I came to my first parade in 1981 when the 49ers beat Cincinnati in the Super Bowl and I’ve never missed one since,” she said. “This is the first one in San Francisco, so there was no way I’d miss this!”
Warriors on parade
Buses carrying the NBA champion Golden State Warriors have started moving down Market Street, soaking up the shrieks and cheers of thousands of fans lining the street.
Pool party commences
As young Warriors standout Jordan Poole was welcomed on stage at the Embarcadero ahead of Monday’s victory parade, he raised a water gun and sprayed streams of water into the sky over the heads of cheering fans. Joining the Splash Brothers, Poole has leaned into his new moniker: the Poole Party.
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