Thousands of fans lined the streets of Arlington's Entertainment District Friday for a parade celebrating the first World Series title in Texas Rangers history.
By 9:15 a.m., lots M, N, and Q were full, Arlington police announced Friday. The lots were among several with free parking that started at 8 a.m. and were near the parade route.
The parade circling Globe Life Field kicks off at 12:15 p.m., and Arlington police are expecting large crowds for the victory party.
"The way its kind of been put to me: Imagine having two Cowboys games and three or four Rangers games going on at the same time," Arlington PD spokesperson Tim Ciesco told WFAA.
The station also reported fans were lined up by 6:30 p.m. the night before.
Preparing for a celebration
The city announced the parade shortly after the Rangers secured their first World Series title Wednesday night, beating the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-0.
Although the win happened on the road, North Texas fans celebrated Wednesday night at Globe Life Field, Texas Live!, area sports bars and anywhere playing the game on a screen. Even the Dallas Mavericks made sure to play the final moments of the World Series game at American Airlines Center's videoboards.
Starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi said he hasn't had a chance to look back at the winning game or any of the celebrations since. Eovaldi, who pitched six scoreless innings in Game 5, said the team usually reflects on how they can improve at the end of each season, but this year is different.
"This year, we finished on top. You almost don't want the season to be over," he said. "We're just focused on celebrating right now."
Third baseman Josh Jung said he got chills driving up to the parade on Friday.
"People have probably been waiting a long, long time for this and for us to get it done, it means the world to us, it means the world to [the fans]," he said. "It's going to be a fun day just to [have] everyone celebrate together."
North Texas schools districts canceled or adjusted their Friday classes for the parade on Friday.
Arlington ISD announced it would cancel all classes so its students could enjoy the parade, but also because traffic from the parade could have complicated transportation to and from schools.
For those who didn't get canceled classes on Friday, Arlington Mayor Jim Ross issued a "very official" note for students to be excused from school.
University of Texas at Arlington President Jennifer Cowley said the energy on campus has been "fantastic" since Wednesday night.
Cowley spoke to KERA News Friday ahead of the parade, horns honking in the background.
"Even folks who weren't Rangers fans are Rangers fans now, and I think there's just a lot of hometown pride for the university and our students to be able to support our neighbors the Texas Rangers," she said.
Sidewalks near the beginning and end of the parade were packed with fans well before the 12:15 p.m. start.
By 10 a.m., lots L, C, D and S were also full.
Dallas resident Nicole Noble left for the parade at 7:30 a.m. and was lined up along the sidewalks in Arlington by 9:30 a.m. She brought her four-year-old son Conrad, who attended his first Texas Rangers game this year.
For a lifelong fan like Noble, watching the Rangers' World Series win felt like a "once in a lifetime experience" — although she hopes it's not once in a lifetime.
"History in the making, it's so exciting especially having a child that 's that much into it as well. That just makes it so much more enjoyable to see the light up on his face," she said.
Parade festivities
Arlington ISD high school bands, drill teams, cheerleaders and color guards along with the UT-Arlington Maverick Marching Band helped kick off the parade at 12:15 p.m.
Rangers mascot Captain followed behind, riding in the back of a golf cart and waving to cheering fans wearing red, white and blue.
Parade floats decorated in team colors made their way down the parade line following the bands. Float passengers, including Arlington Mayor Jim Ross and Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker, waved and cheered with fans on the sidewalks.
By the time the parade started, there was an estimated 500,000 to 700,000 people gathered for the parade, WFAA reported.
Rangers players rode in the back of pickup trucks waving to fans with their family and friends.
Some players like outfielder Evan Smith and pitcher Max Scherzer threw blue and red beaded necklaces to fans from their respective parade trucks.
Rangers manager Bruce Bochy held the World Series trophy front and center in the back of his parade truck. Bochy started his Major League Baseball career playing for the Houston Astros in 1978 and has won four World Series titles managing the San Francisco Giants and now the Texas Rangers.
After the parade, fans rushed to the North Plaza for a chance to watch the players and Bochy to take the stage for a rally.
Dallas resident Angelica Moya came to Friday’s game with Bryan Herrera and her mom Maribel Trejo. They woke up at 5 a.m. to travel from Dallas to Arlington.
Trejo said she had memories of her children running the bases when they were young and called the World Series win a “lifelong memory.”
Moya said she and her siblings became fans because of her mom. She watched the winning game with Herrera at Texas Live! and said it was an emotional night.
“I was just bawling because I thought about 2010, 2011,” Moya said. “I was thinking about the old team, and I was like ‘We couldn’t clench it then, and now it’s surreal.’ This new team...it was just kind of like ‘We got it, we finally could bring it home.’”
Celebratory rally
Rangers announcer Chuck Morgan, who has been with the team since 1983, introduced the team on stage at the start of the rally. He said calling the team "World Series champions" was an announcement he had waited 40 years to make.
As the team came out on stage, the players were all smiles as they took turns lifting the World Series trophy as the song “Higher” by Creed — a postseason anthem — played while thousands cheered.
Chants of “Let’s go Rangers!”, nonstop cheers and clapping rang out from the crowd in between speeches.
All-star second baseman Marcus Semien, who played 179 games, told the crowd that the World Series title was the new standard for the team.
“Keep bringing that energy,” he said to the fans. “Everybody on this stage, we’re going to keep working for you guys.”
World Series MVP Corey Seager was one of the last to speak.
He told the crowd that he heard people ask what would happen if the Rangers didn’t win the World Series this year.
“I guess we’ll never know,” he said, smiling as the crowd erupted in cheers.
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