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Here’s how it looked on the ground at the Toronto Raptors victory parade

By Toronto Life| Photography by Giordano Ciampini
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At yesterday’s Raptors victory parade, swarms of red-shirted fans overwhelmed roadways between Exhibition Place and Nathan Phillips Square, leading to crowding so intense that the TTC was forced to temporarily shut down three subway stations. Our photographer tagged along with the team as they made their way through the throngs. Here’s what he saw.

The parade drew people of all ages:

Here's how it looked on the ground at the Toronto Raptors victory parade

 

Raptors president Masai Ujiri was handing out fist bumps:

Here's how it looked on the ground at the Toronto Raptors victory parade
Photograph by Giordano Ciampini

 

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Most of the city didn’t know who Nick Nurse was before a couple weeks ago. Now the Raptors coach is one of the city’s biggest celebrities:

Here's how it looked on the ground at the Toronto Raptors victory parade

 

Car dealer/Raptors superfan Nav Bhatia had his moment, at last:

Here's how it looked on the ground at the Toronto Raptors victory parade

 

MLSE chairman Larry Tanenbaum made a rare public appearance:

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Here's how it looked on the ground at the Toronto Raptors victory parade

 

And here are the men of the hour (or, rather, six hours, since that’s about how long the parade and rally ended up being):

Here's how it looked on the ground at the Toronto Raptors victory parade

 

Kyle Lowry loves that trophy:

Here's how it looked on the ground at the Toronto Raptors victory parade
Photograph by Giordano Ciampini

 

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Toronto condo balconies usually serve as outdoor storage closets for empty deck chairs and dead potted plants. But not on this day:

Here's how it looked on the ground at the Toronto Raptors victory parade

 

People turned the Gardiner into an elevated viewing platform.

Here's how it looked on the ground at the Toronto Raptors victory parade

 

Every street-facing window and rooftop was occupied:

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Here's how it looked on the ground at the Toronto Raptors victory parade

 

People climbed everything they could:

Here's how it looked on the ground at the Toronto Raptors victory parade

 

Seriously, everything:

Here's how it looked on the ground at the Toronto Raptors victory parade

 

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If you were within a few feet of the buses, you were in the splash zone:

Here's how it looked on the ground at the Toronto Raptors victory parade

 

The TTC eventually cut power to overhead streetcar power cables, and it’s obvious why:

Here's how it looked on the ground at the Toronto Raptors victory parade

 

For parade-goers, there wasn’t much room to move around:

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Here's how it looked on the ground at the Toronto Raptors victory parade

 

At times, the scene was a little apocalyptic:

Here's how it looked on the ground at the Toronto Raptors victory parade

 

All along the parade route, there were signs begging Kawhi to stay in Toronto for another season:

Here's how it looked on the ground at the Toronto Raptors victory parade

 

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Even sculptures weren’t safe:

Here's how it looked on the ground at the Toronto Raptors victory parade

 

Someone jumped the gun on Pride with a little rainbow confetti:

Here's how it looked on the ground at the Toronto Raptors victory parade

 

The hero worship was a little out of control:

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Here's how it looked on the ground at the Toronto Raptors victory parade

 

It’s actually kind of a miracle that more people weren’t hurt:

Here's how it looked on the ground at the Toronto Raptors victory parade

 

The parade ended at Nathan Phillips Square after multiple hours of delays because of crowding. Quite a few fans were there awaiting the team’s arrival:

Here's how it looked on the ground at the Toronto Raptors victory parade

 

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This guy turned Kawhi Leonard’s game-seven buzzer beater against the Philadelphia 76ers into an outfit:

Here's how it looked on the ground at the Toronto Raptors victory parade

 

Most people in Nathan Phillips Square had a view like this:

Here's how it looked on the ground at the Toronto Raptors victory parade

 

And here’s the crowd sign of the day:

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Here's how it looked on the ground at the Toronto Raptors victory parade

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