One Panthers fan didn’t mince words.
As the Panthers held their Stanley Cup parade on Sunday, a reporter for WPLG 10 News Miami was walking near fans when a woman waved to her to try and let her speak into her microphone.
The reporter, Alexis Frazier, obliged.
And then the fan unloaded.
“Let’s just say Matthew Tkachuk is a f–king baller,” the woman screamed into the microphone before Frazier quickly pulled it away.
“Oh, okay,” Frazier responded. “This is live TV, we don’t need to cuss on live TV, ma’am. … She was really eager to say something so I gotta monitor that from now on.”
Warning: Expletive language
It literally rained on the Panthers’ parade, but the downpour didn’t stop the team’s raucous celebrations.
Captain Aleksander Barkov was seen chugging shoeys — pouring beer into his shoe and drinking it.
“I can’t put this into words,” Barkov said.
Flood warnings were issued in the area, and a thunder and lightning storm drenched participants and the fans in attendance.
The Panthers’ Stanley Cup title — which they won in seven games after seeing a 3-0 lead dissipate to 3-3 — marked the first in franchise history.
Fans had been waiting 30 seasons for this celebration.
Some rain wasn’t going to stop this moment.
“It feels like a culmination of your life’s effort, everything you’ve ever worked for,” defenseman Aaron Ekblad said. “When you get that trophy over your head, it’s a beautiful feeling. And it’s the pinnacle of hockey. It’s everything you could possibly imagine.”
Panthers owner Vincent Viola danced on the stage as his wife Theresa captured the scenes on her phone.
Tkachuk hopped off the route at one point to visit his favorite bar, Elbo Room, which just happened to be adjacent to the buses’ path.
Players, one by one, all got their moment to hoist the Cup on stage.
There was a campaign T-shirt some players wore — Maurice Zito 2024, a nod to coach Paul Maurice and president of hockey operations Bill Zito, who masterminded the Cup run.
“It’s incredible,” goalie Sergei Bobrovsky said. “I never thought this many people would come out to support us. For us to share this moment with the fans, it’s unbelievable.”
— With AP
