Rain doesn’t stop the Panthers from celebrating Stanley Cup victory
Global News
A massive thunderstorm didn't stop the Florida Panthers from celebrating their Stanley Cup victory as thousands of fans came together for a rally to hoist the trophy.
Matthew Tkachuk was soaked. Such is life when you’re out in an absolute downpour for a few hours. He did not seem to be bothered by this whatsoever.
And as the star Florida forward looked out at the crowd of people, tens of thousands of them, packed onto Fort Lauderdale Beach on Sunday afternoon for the Panthers’ parade and celebration for winning the Stanley Cup, Tkachuk decided to offer a quick weather update.
“I heard it’s 70 degrees and sunny in Edmonton,” Tkachuk said. “But they ain’t got no Cup.”
Not even a torrential downpour — so bad that flood warnings were issued — accompanied by a huge lightning storm could stop the Panthers’ Stanley Cup celebration, one that the franchise had waited forever to have.
The fans braved the storm, awaiting the champs’ arrival on double-decker buses that took a beachfront route before stopping for a rally, where the trophy was hoisted time and time again.
Panthers coach Paul Maurice — no stranger to profanity — dropped more than a few bleepable moments in his remarks.
He also lauded the fire rescue officials who worked the event and had to briefly treat one of his daughters, who Maurice said got hit in the head by a flying beer can. She was fine.
“God bless ’em,” he said.
