You’ll never forget your first.
The Las Vegas Aces won game 4 in the WNBA Finals on Sunday night in Connecticut, taking with them the WNBA Championship and Las Vegas‘ very first major league sports title. With the honor, comes the party! A short parade followed by a massive party in front of the Bellagio fountains.
Fans were rushing from (or playing hooky from) work to make it in time for the event, flocking to the area mostly from the Caesars Palace parking lot. In front of Caesars, a staging area for the parade with Raiderettes, classic cars, members of the Boys & Girls Club and Broadway In The Hood gearing up to take the route. Then, a horn was blasting out of nowhere. Travelling north on Las Vegas Boulevard, a chartered bus with the Las Vegas Aces was barreling down the street! The parade was coming soon!
Aces staff went up and down the parade route handing out signs, pom-poms, rally towels and more.
At 5:30 sharp, the parade began. Down the street came community members holding “CHAMPS” in balloon lettering. Motorcycle cops and the Nevada State Police‘s “Aces” cruisers, local community organizations and more.
Then, the “Big Bus” double-decker buses rolled through. A’ja Wilson, like Rose in Titanic planted at the front of the first bus with the WNBA Championship in her hand and a grin you couldn’t wipe off if you tried. Aces owner Mark Davis standing close by, almost undetectable wearing a hat. Finals MVP Chelsea Gray holding her MVP trophy precariously off the side of the bus.
They headed towards the stage in front of the Bellagio with thousands in attendance awaiting them. So many that they actually closed the other side of Las Vegas Boulevard – something officials weren’t expecting to do.
The famed Las Vegas Strip, playground to tourists from around the world, was for one rare moment taken over by locals. Local organizations, local fans, our local team. It was a special day! Congrats Aces! Here’s to next year!
