It rained on the Blues91裸聊视频� parade, but nobody seemed to mind.

Hundreds of thousands of people lined the streets of downtown St. Louis and braved the rain on Saturday to cheer on the Stanley Cup champs, who concluded the festivities with a packed rally beneath the Gateway Arch that began just as the sun popped out.

The Blues ended one of sports91裸聊视频� longest championship droughts on Wednesday by beating the Boston Bruins 4-1 in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, the first title for a franchise that joined the NHL 52 years ago.

The long-awaited championship stirred strong emotions in St. Louis, a city still smarting from the departure of the NFL91裸聊视频檚 Rams in 2016. The loss of the football team seemed to strengthen the fans91裸聊视频� bonds to the Blues and their beloved baseball team, the Cardinals.

91裸聊视频淚91裸聊视频檓 so happy for the city and the fans here,91裸聊视频� coach Craig Berube said. 91裸聊视频淭hey deserve it. But more than anything I91裸聊视频檓 so happy for our players, because of how hard they91裸聊视频檝e played, the character and leadership coming through, winning that cup.91裸聊视频�

Ryan Korte, a 56-year-old letter carrier from the St. Louis suburb of Belleville, Illinois, said he wasn91裸聊视频檛 sure he91裸聊视频檇 ever get to see the Blues win the cup.

91裸聊视频淚 was starting to wonder,91裸聊视频� Korte said as he waved a towel while standing on a ledge, straining to see the parade. 91裸聊视频淎 lot of disappointments. They91裸聊视频檝e had some good teams and they always let us down.91裸聊视频�

Not this time.

91裸聊视频淭his is bigger than the World Series,91裸聊视频� Korte said.

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That may sound strange in St. Louis, which has long been considered a baseball haven thanks to the Cardinals91裸聊视频� 11 World Series titles. It sure looked like a hockey town on Saturday, though, as fans shouted 91裸聊视频淟et91裸聊视频檚 Go Blues!91裸聊视频� and danced to 91裸聊视频淕loria,91裸聊视频� the 1982 Laura Branigan hit that became the Blues91裸聊视频� unofficial victory song.

Forward Ryan O91裸聊视频橰eilly, who won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of this year91裸聊视频檚 playoffs, carried the Stanley Cup to fans lining Market Street to let them touch it.

91裸聊视频淭he Blues have an amazing fan base,91裸聊视频� said Michael DeHeer, 52, of St. Louis. 91裸聊视频淭his place is ready to explode.91裸聊视频�

It has been quite a journey since the Blues joined the NHL in 1967 as one of six expansion teams that year that doubled the size of the league. The original six teams were kept in one division, the six new teams in another, ensuring that an expansion team would play for the Stanley Cup.

The Blues loaded their roster with aging veterans and it paid off: They played for the Stanley Cup in each of their first three seasons. They didn91裸聊视频檛 win a game, though, going a combined 0-12 in those three series.

What followed was a 49-year stretch in which the Blues didn91裸聊视频檛 make the finals 91裸聊视频� a drought made even more remarkable because the team only missed the playoffs nine times during that span.

This year91裸聊视频檚 season didn91裸聊视频檛 start out promising, as a sluggish start got coach Mike Yeo fired in November.

Craig Berube took over as interim coach 91裸聊视频� a title he still holds, though the interim tag is expected to be lifted soon. Improvement didn91裸聊视频檛 come immediately 91裸聊视频� the Blues were dead last in the standings on Jan. 3, the middle of the season. Days later, an unheralded rookie goaltender named Jordan Binnington was called up. He won his first game in a shutout.

Soon, with Binnington taking over as the lead goalie, the Blues went on a franchise-record 11-game winning streak and stayed hot through their playoff run.

Binnington, known for his calm demeanour, finally let loose Saturday.

91裸聊视频淵ou want to see some (expletive) emotion?91裸聊视频� he asked the rally crowd. 91裸聊视频淲e91裸聊视频檙e Stanley Cup champions, baby!91裸聊视频�

The Blues joined a list of other sports franchises to recently end long championship droughts. The Chicago Cubs91裸聊视频� win in the 2016 World Series ended a 108-year run of futility. The Philadelphia Eagles won the 2018 Super Bowl, their first championship in 58 years. Last year91裸聊视频檚 Stanley Cup winners, the Washington Capitals, won for the first time since joining the NHL in 1974.

Jim Salter, The Associated Press

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