|
Our group had become separated at City Hall so there was concern after all this other shit we had gone through that we weren't going to see the parade together. Five of us managed to squeeze onto the second train leaving our friends behind. As we kept shouting, "TASKER!", we hope that they had heard us. They finally managed to show up on the third train by and told us how they would line up where the door was on the previous train and miss the next one. Crazy. When we went up top at Tasker Street I was pleasantly surprised at the relatively small crowd that was there. People were only about 5 deep on the curb and there was still plenty of room for people to walk the sidewalks. Saw a plethora of characters along the way. My favorite was a young lady in a Phillies jersey, short skirt, white fishnets stockings and red heels. Too bad she disappeared into the crowd just as quickly as she appeared. We saw people hanging out of windows and sitting on top of bus shelters. The parade itself was pretty lame. For the estimated 2 million folks who managed to beat SEPTA's shortcomings and the hideous planning it was all of a 15 minute parade. Whoever planned this thing needed to ask other cities who have a bit more experience how to do it. Honestly, when you haven't held a parade in 25 years I am sure there is no plan. The team riding on a tractor trailer is such an easy idea to load them up quickly and move them, but it isn't real conducive to viewing by fans. Broad Street is seven lanes wide at most points. (Two northbound lanes, two southbound, a center turn lane and a parking lane on each side of the road) You lump so many people on two vehicles as a fan its impossible to see everyone. Sad part was it looked like it was going to be a promising parade when Pat Burrell came down a top the Budweiser cart being pulled by the Clydesdales. Then it got lame...load 100 people on the back of a flatbed tractor trailer. I hate to compare the parade to Boston but the Red Sox parade was so much more enjoyable. The players rode on the back of the duckboats which I am sure most are familiar with. This allowed 2 or 3 players to be on each boat with name cards so if you didn't recognize someone you at least knew who they were. I have already heard, the streets are smaller and there were less people there. Well they certainly know how to throw a parade. Our parade had more police cars than you could shake a stick at. I guess the players were safe in case a riot broke out. In conclusion, SEPTA was a nightmare. So many people were encouraged to ride who had never been on a train only to find a mess. There were some good SEPTA employees out there who tried to help and remained courteous through all the bullshit. So much for getting people to ride mass transit. If it weren't for the company I kept that day I really would have had a crappy day. I certainly won't attend another parade for a Philadelphia team any time soon. As I think a lot of people will take the same feeling. I can only imagine what would happen if the Flyers or Eagles won a parade...thank heavens I hate both teams and will be as far away as possible. The only good thing was a fun time with some good friends. Next time I will be watching from The Valley. Especially after I saw that picture of the bartender! |
   |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |