Sports

Boston Postpones Super Bowl Parade After Heavy Snow

Published

11 years ago

February 3, 2015

New England Patriots fans celebrate Sunday, Feb. 1, 2015, in Boston, after the Patriots won the NFL Super Bowl XLIX football game against the Seattle Seahawks 28-24 in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

PHILIP MARCELO, Associated Press

BOSTON (AP) — The Super Bowl celebration for New Englanders and their beloved Patriots will have to wait another day as Boston continues to get battered by heavy snow.

Mayor Marty Walsh said the city will postpone a planned victory parade through downtown until Wednesday.

He said the city and team both agreed to hold off on the parade because of Monday’s snowstorm, which dumped more than a foot of fresh snow in the Boston area, making commutes treacherous.

“We thank everyone for their flexibility and patience during the planning of this parade and we look forward to celebrating with Patriots fans during better weather on Wednesday,” Walsh said in a joint statement with the team.

The city had announced earlier that the parade would take place Tuesday. But with weather continuing to worsen, Boston public schools preemptively canceled Tuesday classes, the fifth snow day in the past week. A decision to cancel the parade followed shortly after.

Boston has seen a record 34.2 inches of snow over seven days, according to the National Weather Service. The previous seven-day record was 31.2 inches in January 1996.

Following their 28-24 victory over the defending champion Seattle Seahawks in Arizona, the Patriots flew back to Massachusetts as scores of flights in and out of Boston’s Logan International Airport were canceled or delayed Monday.

The latest snowstorm didn’t stop New Englanders from basking in the glow of their team’s fourth Super Bowl victory.

Todd Penney, of Coventry, Connecticut, was still recovering from a heady night of celebrating as he prepared for work Monday morning as a town engineer.

“My voice is very hoarse from screaming at the TV. I was all in last night,” he said. “It will be a lot more fun for me to snowblow this morning after the Patriots’ win than if they would have lost, that’s for sure.”

Other fans recounted tense moments from the rollercoaster victory.

“It was an exciting game, a nail-biter to the end. You don’t get to see games like that very often,” said George Vemis, as he cleared the sidewalk in front of his variety store in Whitman, south of Boston.

Cheryl Happeny, a business analyst from Whitman, said the victory is especially satisfying because so many people outside of New England have been calling the team cheaters since the scandal over underinflated footballs in the Patriots’ winning game over the Indianapolis Colts erupted.

“It was a sweet victory,” she said. “I don’t think it will quiet the critics. I’m waiting for it to heat up again. Everyone hates the Patriots because we’re breaking so many records. …We’re like the Yankees of the NFL.”

At the Modell’s Sporting Goods in Cambridge, devoted fans trickled in Monday morning as thick fluffy clumps of snow fell, grabbing commemorative T-shirts and hats by the armful.

“It’s an early Valentine’s gift. I’m treating,” said Karen Rudgis of Cambridge, who was buying shirts for her husband and two grown children.

Mike Kelley, who works next door at Staples, was buying T-shirts and hats for his daughter, brother-in-law and himself. “It’s an expensive day today,” he said. “I’ve already spent $100, and I’m already planning to spend $100 more.”

Modell’s employees said the biggest sellers so far were the white Super Bowl champion baseball caps the team wore Sunday for the locker room celebration.

“It’d be a lot different if there wasn’t a blizzard right now. Later tonight, I would think, it would get busy,” said Jennifer Walcott, who had been among a number of staffers brought in from the store’s Hamden, Connecticut, location to help open up the Cambridge store promptly at 6 a.m. Monday.

From Boston to western Massachusetts, police reported that Patriots fans celebrated raucously but without mayhem late Sunday and into Monday.

In Boston, where schools were closed but subways were running Monday, Walsh held court in City Hall, reflecting on Sunday’s win and sketching out the upcoming celebration.

The championship parade, now scheduled to start at 11 a.m. Wednesday, will begin at the Hynes Convention Center. A fleet of 25 amphibious “duck boats” resembling those used during World War II — a staple of championship parades in Boston — will carry the team along Boylston Street, past the Common and onto City Hall.

“We’ll make sure the duck boats get through the snow,” Walsh said. “We’ll probably have plows in front of them, behind them, beside then, next to them, under them.”

___

Associated Press writers Mark Pratt and Steve LeBlanc in Boston, Denise Lavoie in Whitman, Mass., Pat Eaton-Robb in Coventry, Conn., and Steve Singer in Hartford, Conn., contributed to this report.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Up Next

Super Bowl 2015: New England Patriots’ Malcolm Butler on Pivotal Interception

Don't Miss

US Judge Wants NFL Concussion Settlement to Aid More Players

Oakland Post

Click to comment

Barbara Lee

WNBA’s Golden State Valkyries Kick Off Season with Community Programs in Oakland

“The Golden State Valkyries are more than a team—they’re a movement,” said Oakland Interim-Mayor Kevin Jenkins. “Their touchdown in Oakland marks a new era of opportunity, inspiration, and equity in sports. This partnership reflects our city’s deep commitment to uplifting women, investing in youth, and building a community where every dream has a place to grow. We’re proud to welcome the Valkyries to The Town.”

Published

6 months ago

May 18, 2025

Oakland Post

The Valkyries came to Oakland City Hall with a “Hoopbus.” Present were (from left to right): City Councilmembers Noel Gallo, Rebecca Kaplan, Zac Unger and Rowena Brown; Oakland Mayor-elect Barbara Lee, Valkyries President Jess Smith, a Valkyries team representative and Deputy Mayor LaNiece Jones. Photo courtesy Rebecca Kaplan’s office.

Team installs new nets at playgrounds, holds flag-raisings at City Halls in Oakland and S.F.

Special to The Post

The Golden State Valkyries brought the excitement of their inaugural season to every corner of the Bay Area with a full slate of community celebrations leading up to their historic home-opener against the Los Angeles Sparks at the Chase Center in San Francisco on Friday.

The week featured flag-raising ceremonies at city halls in Oakland and San Francisco, three “Violet Net” installation days at Oakland parks to encourage basketball play, fun “Hoopbus” takeovers at multiple schools presented by Kaiser Permanente, and player appearances.

In total, 90 violet nets were installed on 45 basketball courts across 34 public parks throughout Oakland this week. A list of the parks receiving violet nets can be found at Valkyries.com.

About the Golden State Valkyries

The Golden State Valkyries, the WNBA affiliate of the seven-time NBA Champion Golden State Warriors, were announced as the 13th WNBA franchise on Oct. 5, 2023. According to Norse mythology, Valkyries are a host of warrior women who are fearless and unwavering – flying through air and sea alike.

This brand is Golden State’s modern interpretation of Valkyries: strong, bold, and fierce. Tipping off during the 2025 WNBA season, the team is headquartered in Oakland and will play home games at Chase Center in San Francisco. For Golden State Valkyries’ assets, including team logos, visit valkyries.com.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

McClymonds High Names School Gym for Star Graduate, Basketball Legend Bill Russell

William “Bill” Felton Russell was born on Feb. 12, 1934, and died on July 31, 2022. He achieved fame as a U.S. professional basketball player who played center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1956 to 1969. He was the centerpiece of the Celtics dynasty that won 11 NBA championships during his 13-year career.

Published

9 months ago

February 18, 2025

Oakland Post

Bill Russell and Brian McGhee in McClymonds High School Gym, 2011. Photo courtesy of Brian McGhee.

By Ken Epstein

West Oakland’s McClymonds High School, “the School of Champions,” this week named the school’s gymnasium in honor of one of its most famous graduates, basketball legend Bill Russell (class of ’52).

Russell is widely known as one of the greatest basketball players of all time. In 2011, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country’s highest civil honor, from President Barack Obama for Russell’s contributions to basketball and the Civil Rights Movement.

The McClymonds’ naming ceremony was held on Wednesday, the same day as Russell’s birthday. Oakland leader Bill Patterson, a longtime friend of Russell’s, was scheduled to cut the ribbon at the reopening of the gym, which had been closed for several months for renovation. Russell’s daughter Karen was scheduled to attend the ribbon cutting.

Russell’s name and signature are now printed on the gymnasium floor.

Patterson was working at DeFremery Park when he met Russell. “I befriended him as a boy and during his years at University of San Francisco” said Patterson. “We stayed friends for the rest of his life.”

Said McClymonds Principal Darielle Davis, herself a McClymonds graduate, “We are excited to honor Bill Russell for his sports accolades and because he broke color barriers. He is part of our legacy, and legacy is really important at McClymonds.”

Brian McGhee, community schools manager at McClymonds and former football player at UC Berkeley, said that Russell meant a lot to him and others at the school. “He was a beacon of light and hope for West Oakland,” he said. “He did a lot for sports and for civil rights.”

Starting in 2018, Ben “Coach” Tapscott worked with Patterson and other McClymonds grads, community members, and former coaches to encourage the Oakland Board of Education to endorse the naming of the school gym, which finally happened recently.

“We worked hard to make this happen,” said Tapscott. “He’s an important part of McClymond’s history, along with a lot of other famous graduates,” he said.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

OPINION: Politics, Football and Identity in Trump’s America

If you haven’t noticed, all Americans are engaged in an even bigger game that means so much more than the Super Bowl. Our democracy is falling apart.

Published

9 months ago

February 17, 2025

Oakland Post

iStock.

By Emil Guillermo

Two Filipino American stories made headlines recently.

First, Nikko Remigio, the Filipino and African American kick returner for the Kansas City Chiefs, did not win Super Bowl LIX.

The other, Alameda’s Rob Bonta said no to running for governor. I don’t blame him. It’s not like a mass of people wanted him to run.

But I did.

Whenever there is a Filipino American in a place you don’t expect, I’m rooting for that person.

As California’s Attorney General, Bonta is probably the most active defender among Blue States pushing back against Trump’s Extreme-Right agenda.

I’d like to Bonta run for California’s top job, but he’s better off waiting in line. The Democrats need a spot for Kamala Harris, and Bonta not running obliges the hierarchy.

History can wait. Bonta’s just 52.

Harris has held off speculation of her next move, saying she just moved back to the state. But it seems governor is the path for her.

For now, Bonta needs to continue taking the fight to Trump in the courts.

Football and Identity Politics

My dad, whose birthday would have been Super Bowl weekend, came to the US in 1928 as a colonized Filipino, an “American National,” where he couldn’t be a citizen, vote, own property or even marry the person he wanted.

Not if they were White.

Still, he believed in America. He never gave up.

Sort of like Nikko Remigio.

My dad would have loved Nikko.

If you haven’t noticed, all Americans are engaged in an even bigger game that means so much more than the Super Bowl. Our democracy is falling apart.

You want to get passionate about Eagles and Chiefs?

Let’s be passionate about our Founding Fathers, too.

Nikko didn’t change the game. He touched it three times and provided more yards than all of KC’s running backs.

That’s all I needed to see.

He’s our Filipino guy.

Detractors may call it “identity politics.”

People don’t seem to understand the fight for visibility. To be recognized. To be seen. It’s all wrapped up in the big idea of Civil Rights.

I was nowhere near as good as Nikko when I played. But when you are blessed to play football, you play your hardest.

For me, that was when I was 12 and 13 playing Pop Warner football in San Francisco. I was MVP for my team as a running back.

But I was ashamed of my dad. He wasn’t like the other dads. And I remember going to the team banquet to retrieve my trophy alone.

I didn’t realize it probably meant more to him than I thought.

I wish I had shared my MVP moment with him like Nikko shared his joy with his dad, Mark, born in Seattle to two Filipino immigrants, and his mom, whose mixture of Black and White made Nikko the picture of diversity.

Filipino American and Black and White at the Super Bowl.

But don’t forget, there is one game bigger.

The Super Bowl for Democracy. We’re battling for it every day Trump pushes a cockamamie idea that shakes the foundation of our Democracy.

About the Author

Emil Guillermo is an award-winning journalist and commentator. Watch his micro-talk show “Emil Amok’s Takeout/What Does an Asian American Think?” on www.YouTube.com/emilamok1 Or join him on http://www.patreon.com/emilamok