Parade ideas If the Toronto Maple Leafs Win the Stanley Cup
With the Tampa Bay Lighting hosting a boat parade, what can the Toronto Maple Leafs do if they win the Stanley Cup?
It has been a long time since the Toronto Maple Leafs won their last Stanley Cup. It has been 54 years. With that in mind, a win would cause a wave of mayhem.
The Tampa Bay Lightning won the 2021 Stanley Cup, which was their second in two seasons. To celebrate, they decided to throw a boat parade just as they did for their 2020 win.
Considering how popular the Leafs are, the buildup of tension over 54 years, and the money companies can earn, the Toronto Maple Leafs have to do something crazy if they win the Stanley Cup.
Toronto Maple Leafs Parade on the TTC
Every team has their parade through the city after a championship win. The Toronto Raptors had the city streets flooded from Exhibition Place to Nathan Phillips Square. It was 4.2 kilometers of partying, joy, and fans going wild.
While the hype surrounding Canada’s basketball team had been drastically increasing in the years leading up to the win, I don’t think it compares to the support of Toronto’s hockey team. With that in mind, the team would need to do something bigger.
The Raptors rode around on double-decker buses, catching beers thrown at them and interacting with fans. What if the Leafs did something similar but a little closer to the fans. Toronto is known for many things. One of them is their transit company, the Toronto Transit Commission. Let’s say Lord Stanley took a trip on the subway with fans in attendance.
If you live in the GTA, you have been on the subway at least once in your life. Imagine how cool it would be to be on the train with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Believe it or not, that wouldn’t be the first time players were on the train together. On January 9th, 2019, many players hopped on the subway to practice. It was a special one held at Nathan Phillips Square. The gesture made the days of many fans and shocked those that weren’t Leafs fans.
The Leafs can do that again, but this time a little more security and the Stanley Cup on board. Rather than riding from Union Station to the Eaton Centre, they can hop on from Wilson Station to Eglington Station and have fans following them on the train and along Allen Road.
Yes, that’s a far reach considering how far out it is from Scotiabank Arena and City Hall, but it would be a pleasant sight. The Toronto Maple Leafs and the TTC can make lots of money through advertisements along the way and a deal between the two companies.
That also means planning the rest of the parade would be a difficult task and a long stretch. Hey, who said you need to follow the ole bus parade? I’m sure there are faster methods of transportation the team can utilize for the rest.
Copying Tampa’s Boat Parade
Who doesn’t love riding around on a boat? I can guarantee you the players would love to celebrate their Stanley Cup win similarly to how the Tampa Bay Lightning and Buccaneers did theirs.
Both championship-winning teams hopped on boats and traveled along the Hillsborough River. In doing that, fans followed along on land, and those with boats rode along. Unfortunately, there is not a river the Toronto Maple Leafs can drive boats through. The only one nearby is the Don River, but it is not deep or safe enough to run a boat parade.
The team can have boats run from Ontario Place Marina to the Jack Layton Ferry Terminal. That would run along where the Raptors held their parade, just on water. There are plenty of parks and little spots that fans can watch the parade. They can even have a beer at Amsterdam Brewery and have a perfect view at the same time.
There is a long stretch that fans can watch in doing this, and it allows those with a boat to follow along. Considering it is common for people to ride along on an average day, Lake Ontario will be full of ships during the parade.
Considering the success Tampa had with the boat parade three times (twice with the Lightning and once with the Buccaneers), it is a real possibility for the Toronto Maple Leafs to follow suit. The idea checks the mark regarding fan engagement and having a different parade, but at the same time, they wouldn’t be doing anything new. Yes, it is a change from the usual bus parade, but it has already happened three times.
I would want the Toronto Maple Leafs to do something brand new (such as the TTC idea). It will not only be great in terms of remembering the celebration, but it would also put the team on a bigger stage.
The NHL is arguably the worst of the major North American sports regarding marketing. Having a brand new parade layout would help promote the sport and the Maple Leafs, because who doesn’t like having a good time?
Cruisin Down the Street in my 64/Mini-Concert
With everyone trying to find new and modern ideas to celebrate, maybe the Toronto Maple Leafs can turn back the clock? I’m sure the players would have a good time, and it would somewhat pay tribute to the team’s last Stanley Cup win in 1967.
In 1988, rap icon Eazy-E released the song Boyz-n-the-Hood. It features the iconic chorus “cruising down the street in my 64.” That refers to the 1964 Chevrolet Impala, the highly sought-after car on the west coast during that time.
You see artists making music videos with cars jumping around. It had become an iconic picture of Los Angeles in the ’90s and ’80s. Why don’t the Leafs roll around the city of Toronto in the classic cars with hydraulics?
Paint some up in blue and white, have the players roll around in style, and enjoy the show. After all, the parade is all about celebrating winning the Stanley Cup and having a good time.
Toronto has been a city with artists blooming as of late. Among the big names out of the 6ix are Drake, Justin Bieber, and The Weeknd. How cool would it be if one or multiple artists performed for the parade? That may be during the march or on the stage at Nathan Philips Square.
Bieber recently made a video tribute to his favorite team this past season with Hold On. Unfortunately, the Leafs couldn’t hold on this year.
Let’s say one or more reputable artists put something together for the championship win and dropped it AT the parade? I mean, Drake did something similar when the Raptors won, so why not the Maple Leafs?
Of course, some of these ideas may seem crazy or weird to you. At the end of the day, these are just ideas. The Toronto Maple Leafs need to bring Lord Stanley home first before we worry about a parade.
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Besides that, it’s interesting to think about the possibilities and the thought of this happening. What would you want the Toronto Maple Leafs to do during a possible Stanley Cup Championship parade? Let me know in the comments section below, and tweet me!!