MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
An estimated 200,000 people packed into downtown Los Angeles today to celebrate the LA Dodgers' World Series win over the New York Yankees. It's the team's eighth World Series title overall, their first championship parade since 1988. NPR's Kelly McEvers was there.
KELLY MCEVERS, BYLINE: The parade started at city hall. LA mayor Karen Bass said she'd be sending a Dodgers Jersey to New York City Mayor Eric Adams, but most people didn't see that. Downtown was so packed by that point, the best hope to see anything was to climb a tree. I met the Rodriguez family waiting in a long line for the porta-potties. They've been here since 6:00 a.m.
DANIEL RODRIGUEZ #1: I've been a Dodgers fan since I was born. I got baby pictures, everything. This is my Pops right here.
MCEVERS: That's Daniel Rodriguez with his dad, Daniel Rodriguez. Younger Daniel's wearing one of those old-school bright blue '80s-style Dodgers satin jackets, like manager Tommy Lasorda used to wear.
DANIEL RODRIGUEZ #1: This is my great-grandpa's jacket.
MCEVERS: No way.
SANDRA: Yeah.
DANIEL RODRIGUEZ #1: Yeah. It's my great-grandpa's jacket.
MCEVERS: From what year?
DANIEL RODRIGUEZ #1: From - what was it? - probably '97?
DANIEL RODRIGUEZ #2: I got it for him in 1997.
MCEVERS: Is he still with us?
SANDRA: No, he passed away.
DANIEL RODRIGUEZ #1: No, he's not anymore.
MCEVERS: Daniel Sr. tells me about his first Dodger game in 1985. He's originally from Guatemala. He says he and his grandpa, the owner of the jacket, walked the whole way to the stadium. His wife, Sandra, says she got into the Dodgers when she was young with her mom.
SANDRA: As a kid, I remember her listening to the radio. It means a lot. It means a lot.
MCEVERS: The family says this parade is extra special. The 2020 season was short because of COVID. The Dodgers won the World Series that year, but there was no parade.
DANIEL RODRIGUEZ #1: I know we won in 2020. It felt good. I loved it. But we didn't get to do all this, you know?
MCEVERS: This parade is about to make its way to us. Sandra says we should get in position.
SANDRA: I got my son-in-law up on the tree.
MCEVERS: OK, cool. Oh, wow. Cool.
SANDRA: Come with us.
MCEVERS: All right, let's do it.
We join up with her daughter, Natalie, who just got married. It's her husband who's up in the tree. Natalie says they showed World Series Game 2 at her wedding reception.
NATALIE: We told the DJ, like, when he got there, I was like, OK, like, if - when the Dodgers win that third out - like, and it doesn't matter what's going on during the wedding. I need you to play "I Love LA." And he did. Everyone went crazy 'cause we were like, we're big Dodgers fans.
MCEVERS: Pretty soon, we see the buses come around the corner - double-deckers with players, owners, coaches and family waving and throwing flowers.
(SOUNDBITE OF CAR HORNS HONKING)
MCEVERS: At that point, it's just a wall of yelling.
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: (Singing) We are the champions, my friends.
MCEVERS: It all goes by really fast, and then it's over.
SANDRA: I'm going to cry, I think, for my husband - I know he's been waiting for this forever - my son, my daughter. Yeah. I'm really emotional. This is beautiful.
MCEVERS: Kelly McEvers, NPR News, downtown Los Angeles. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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