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RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The Carolina Hurricanes brought their Stanley Cup celebration to downtown Raleigh on Saturday, with thousands of fans arriving hours early to line sidewalks for the team’s victory parade or packing in near the rally stage where the Hurricanes were set to cap off the festivities.
The team boarded double-decker buses to start the parade, which was set to weave by the State Capitol building. And the Hurricanes players were greeted by fans screaming, chanting, waving flags and wearing Carolina jerseys, still buzzing from the franchise beating the Vegas Golden Knights last weekend to win the Cup for the second time, the other coming in 2006.
Carly Goodman, 35, of Raleigh, was hard to miss in the front row behind barricades in front of the stage where the parade would end with a rally. She sported a red Sebastian Aho jersey, waved a large Hurricanes flag and was blinged out with a silver “Stanley Cup” chain necklace.
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She was drinking from a “beer skate,” the novelty mug shaped like a Hurricanes skate that sold out immediately during the Game 1 of the second-round series against Philadelphia. She got up at 5 a.m. — “Let my dogs out, they were mad to get up,” she said — and made sure to head straight downtown hours in advance to ensure a prime spot.
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“It’s been something special ever since 2006,” Goodman said. “Raleigh’s a small market. We’ve got college sports, but this is epic. It’s a team that everybody can get behind. It breaks down all the barriers. Everyone just comes together and smiles, no matter if you’re a Duke fan, Carolina fan, whatever — it doesn’t matter.”
It was a longer trek for Scott Stiles, 60, and his son, Joey, 24. They weren’t about to miss the celebration even though they live in Concord, a city outside of Charlotte known for its ties to NASCAR and other motorsports. So they hopped in the car around 3 a.m. to make the 2 1/2-hour drive, arriving more than five hours before the parade was scheduled to start and finding fans like Goodman already waiting closer to the City Plaza stage.
The duo — Scott in an Andrei Svechnikov jersey, Joey wearing a Seth Jarvis one — had chairs plopped in the middle of Fayetteville Street straight back from the stage, their spot marked by a giant Hurricanes flag.
“When’s the next time they’re going to win a Cup?” Scott said, pausing as a “Let’s go Canes!” chant wrapped up. “They might win it again next year, who knows? But we wanted to be a part of it.”
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