In 1969, the Apollo 11 astronauts were given a ticker-tape parade in New York City to celebrate their successful landing on the moon and return to earth. This may be the greatest achievement of mankind to date, and after years of hard work and sacrifice, no one deserved to celebrate more than Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins. You can see from the picture above that they were given a hero's welcome with millions of people lining the parade route. Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins are riding in the back of a convertible wearing suits and waving at the crowd. Yes, a well earned celebration, and handled with dignity, class and style.
Later that same year, the New York Mets were treated to a ticker-tape parade in New York after they won the World Series. The "Amazing Mets" were an expansion team in 1962 and a model of futility until their unexpected charge in '69 to overtake the Cubs, then sweep the Braves on their way to a 4 games to 1 World Series victory over the heavily favored Baltimore Orioles. As you can see, the players rode in convertibles, wearing suits and ties, waving to the crowd who lined the streets to celebrate. Very dignified.
A few months after the Met's World Series victory, the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IV. The Vikings were favored by 12 points, but the Chiefs dominated the game for a 23-7 win. There was a parade in Kansas City to celebrate this incredible victory. Once again, the players wore suits and ties and acted like dignified professionals.
Fast forward to 2020-2024. The Kansas City Chiefs are now an NFL dynasty in the making, winning 3 Super Bowls in 5 years. I remember watching Super Bowl IV with my dad and seeing how happy he was that they won. But then the Chiefs went dormant for 50 years and didn't get back to the Super Bowl until 2020. Talk about long droughts. But we as Chiefs fans have certainly been rewarded for our patience with this surge of football excellence. It is a wonderful feeling for sure. But what happened to celebrating with class and dignity?
Our players treat the parade like a frat party. And it's not just the KC Chiefs...I am just using them as an example because I live in the KC metro area. Most sports franchises have taken to a "let it rip...let it all hang out" form of excessive drinking and partying. Millions of fans go to parades and rallies to celebrate their team's success and watch them get hammered and act like drunken fools. The "justification" I hear, which is really just an excuse, is "these players are under an unbelievable amount of stress and pressure, and when they finally make it to the top of the top and win a championship, they deserve to celebrate and let their hair down." I agree...but not by getting fucked up at a public rally or parade. No one needs to see this, especially the young people who idolize these players. I mean, if anyone can speak to "stress and pressure" it is Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins. Their journey to the moon and back, which started years before their July 1969 launch, shouldered the hopes and dreams of not only their own country, but most of humanity on the planet. And of course, it was exceedingly risky. So if anyone had an excuse to let their hair down and tie one on, it was them. But they behaved like dignified men and showed up in suits and ties, smiled, and waved to the millions of well wishers at their parade. Perhaps they did go to a private party after the parade and drank excessively....I have no idea. That's the way I think it should be handled...in private.
