Nearly a quarter million Arizona Diamondback fans swamped outside Bank One Ballpark in downtown Phoenix Wednesday to cheer on baseball's newly crowned world champions.
Fans arrived at the stadium as early as 8 a.m. as they prepared for a victory parade that started at noon. Thousands of fans screamed, cheered, and clapped as the Diamondback players and staff rode by on top of Phoenix Fire Trucks.
Randy Johnson, the co-MVP of the World Series, was the first player to make an appearance during the parade. Fans were stirring up wild as Johnson held out his video camera to the crowd.
Karey Anderson, mother of four young children, didn’t miss bringing all of her children to see the parade live. She said they have all been fans since the start of the franchise.
Anderson and her children did not want to miss the parade.
“We love the Diamondbacks!” Anderson said.
It looked like school just went on recess alongside the parade. Teenagers, toddlers, and even infants surrounded the entire proximity of BOB.
Many children happily waved D'back pennants and banners and wore purple and white shirts.
Parents with children at the parade said they didn’t mind taking their children out of school to celebrate the D-Back’s victory.
One mother said she would rather her children watch history unravel than read about it in a text book.
Hector Sandoral, 29, and Sonya Coronado, 22, came to the parade to support their team.
Sandoral and Coronado both said they have been D'back fans since they came to Arizona.
“I waited in line for 18 hours to get tickets for Game 7 of the World Series,” Sandoral said.
"It was worth every penny," he said.
Sampson Jake was at BOB for a different reason than most.
He was one of the many people responsible for cleaning litter left behind by the crowd.
“It was the greates World Series ever,” Jake said. "It’s phenomenal. Just what this town needed."
Traffic in the downtown Phoenix area was at a standstill during much of the day. Many streets surrounding the ballpark were closed because of the 75-minute parade route.
Parking was equally as bad. Some fans had to park more than 15 blocks away from the stadium.
