Avs players celebrate with fans during Stanley Cup Championship parade, rally
As Colorado celebrated the Avalanche's third Stanley Cup victory by hosting a parade through downtown Denver, several players on the team told CBS News Colorado that the crowd is what fueled them to victory. Players like Nazem Kadri and Bowen Byram told CBS that the celebrations were possibly better than that of the last parade in 2001.
"Today was one of those big time moments where I was like 'wow, this is really happening,'" Kadri told CBS4's Dillon Thomas.
Kadri said he spent much of his life dreaming of the day he could hoist a Stanley Cup before a home crowd. Thursday afternoon that dream became a reality.
"I've been watching these all my life. I was just waiting for my chance. It was everything I expected. Just to be able to share it with such great people, the city of Denver and amazing teammates, I couldn't be happier," Kadri said.
CBS4 had a team of journalists on a float with former Colorado Avalanche players as the parade moved from Union Station to Civic Center Park. Both former and current players told CBS4 the crowd exceeded expectations.
"It is the craziest thing I have ever seen in my life," Byram said. "It was so much fun. Our fans have been unbelievable all year. We wanted to give back to them a bit."
Some players shot squirt guns into the crowd. Other threw beers to fans who celebrated by cracking them open and chugging them.
"It just shows how great of a sports city Denver is," Byram said.
Since moving to Denver the Colorado Avalanche have won more than a tenth of the championships played. But, those on the team say this celebration felt like the city's first based off of the energy.
"This stuff doesn't come around all too often. So, we are going to make sure to soak it all in," Kadri said.
