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Joy and disbelief as Washington Capitals win hockey title
WASHINGTON, June 8, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – A red sea of tens of thousands of fans
boiled over in jubilation Thursday as the Washington Capitals won the Stanley
Cup for the first time in team’s 44-year history.
Capital One Arena in downtown Washington, the Caps’ home stadium, was full
to the rafters and rocking for a free jumbotron viewing of the away game.
Many more boisterous fans wearing red Caps jerseys spilled into
surrounding Chinatown streets to cheer on their side.
In the end, the 4-3 triumph over the Las Vegas Golden Knights in game five
of the National Hockey League finale series was particularly sweet for Caps
fans sadly used to seeing their team reach the playoffs fairly regularly,
only to choke well before reaching the final round.
“It’s beautiful,” fan Bobby Parrish told The Washington Post.
“This is incredible. I mean, I’ve grown up being disappointed and yet I
still come back. Sometimes I don’t know why. Until it finally happens. It’s
why you wasted so many years supporting this team. I mean, it’s so
rewarding.”
In the after-game delirium, fans screamed as they hugged each other in
gridlocked streets and drivers honked their horns all over the city, as far
away as the K Street corridor of lobbyist power not far from the White House.
After Lars Eller scored the go ahead goal for the Caps with 7:37 to go and
Washington held on until the final buzzer, people inside the arena shot their
arms up in glee, ran onto the basketball court at the center of the multi-
purpose facility or even chucked their beer straight into the air.
“Unlike anything I’ve ever seen before,” fan Mark Creamer, 22, told the
Post.
Washington is a big sports town and fans were particularly hungry because
the last major crown here was the Washington Redskins’ 1992 win in the Super
Bowl.
BSS/AFP/MR/1120 hrs