Look. I don’t like the headline to this post. But reality is reality. Some dude in Philadelphia kneeled down onto the ground and did something very disgusting.
This video was recorded following Philadelphia’s Super Bowl win over New England.
Stop now if you’re unsure if you can handle it. Nobody will judge you. It’s gross. I get it.
They even crowned a queen.
Fans of the Cleveland Browns found humor (?), maybe solace in attending and participating in the Cleveland Browns Perfect Season Parade. The Browns went 0-16 this season — a dismal performance at a franchise that’s routinely underperformed.
Mother Nature had some fun with Cleveland, too. The air temperature was forecasted to be 0 degrees when the parade kicked off. The wind chill was forecasted to be -16. Put them together and what do you get? 0-16.
A Cleveland.com reporter using Facebook Live said there was a group of people protesting the parade.
People decorated floats to march in the parade that circled the stadium the Browns play in.
At one point in the Cleveland.com broadcast, fans could be heard chanting “0…16.”
The parade was sponsored by FarmersOnly.com and Excedrin (yes, the headache medicine).
It should be noted that the parade organizers wanted fans to bring nonperishable items for the local food bank.
The Browns organization released a statement apologizing to fans: “We greatly appreciate the passion of all our fans and we apologize to them for not making 2017 an enjoyable season. We certainly hear them and understand their frustration. Obviously, we want the same thing as our fans; winning results. We are committed to doing everything we can to improve and build them the type of team they most certainly deserve.”
Better luck next year, Cleveland?
The Incline — a digital news site in Pittsburgh — offered a brief history of Pittsburgh’s biggest party: Light Up Night.
The Downtown Pittsburgh Partnership told Incline that the first “Light Up” event happened April 9, 1959, in honor of the Pirates.
The event took a nine-year break beginning in 1973 in an effort to conserve energy. Light Up Night returned in 1982 to help lift morale as the steel industry collapsed. By the way, a few years later, Gimbels closed.
What was most surprising to me was how few people used to attend! The PDP told Incline that 25,000 people attended each year before 1998 when about 50,000 people showed up.
The low turnout makes sense as the 90s saw major changes in Downtown’s retail sector. (Anybody remember the failed “Fifth and Forbes” plans?) It was also a time when suburban shopping malls really solidified their dominance over Downtown.
But something happened since then … the Downtown Pittsburgh Partnership has grown the event — along with the help of many other groups. Last year, half a million people celebrated Light Up Night.
Are you ready for it?
Today marks the 57th annual Light Up Night in Downtown Pittsburgh!
This is the granddaddy of all days in the holiday season for me — yes, even bigger than Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
Light Up Night evokes fond memories of Pittsburgh’s past, and helps to usher in a new holiday season for Pittsburgh’s future.
Oohing and ahhing over beautifully designed department store windows at Kaufmann’s, Horne’s and GImbels no longer is part of the spectacle that is the region’s official start to the holiday season. After all, Light Up Night began as a way for the department stores to get people excited to come into the city. Though Kaufmann’s and others created holiday windows and welcomed Santa for many years before Light Up Night began, the event has grown into a wonderful tradition.
But some of those memories (at least ones attached to the Kaufmann’s store) are part of what keeps Light Up Night ticking for me. I always enjoyed getting lunch at Tic Toc or Arcade Bakery in Kaufmann’s on Light Up Night (or at other times). I remember spending time in the early afternoon up on an upper floor at a small cafe near the book department with friends before heading into the streets. Seeing the Santa display and hearing carolers throughout the store was such a throwback, too!
Light Up Night 2015 was a tough one to swallow. That year marked the first Light Up Night without a major downtown department store. Macy’s had closed in September of that year. Admittedly, Light Up Night that year was a bit sour. Yes, it was festive. Yes, there were good times had. Yes, there were windows.
In a blog post about Macy’s announcement to close the 128-year-old store, I wrote this line that I still think of: “There will be no window encouraging passersby to believe.”
In retrospect, Light Up Night 2014 (photos above are from 2014) actually was one my more memorable events, as I spent so much time inside Kaufmann’s (well, Macy’s) with friends. Macy’s hosted events all over the building and outside! Though, the windows had become the same old same old from them, which was disappointing.
My mother explained to me a few nights ago how Light Up Night “isn’t the same” as when she was growing up. (Obviously.) She noted the demise of the behemoth multi-story department stores with activities throughout the many departments as a reason it no longer is special for her. But, she’s also not been to Light Up Night in many years.
So she has no idea how this fantastic day has morphed from a night encouraging the start of the department store holiday shopping season into what probably is Pittsburgh’s biggest party of the year!
The Horne’s tree still lights up. There will be some form of windows at the Kaufmann’s building. Market Square will be jam-packed with shoppers and browsers and cute little art. The CBS people will do their thing at the Do Not Call It Light Up Night Where Santa Throws A Fireball At A Tree And Poof, Fireworks Begin at Point State Park.
And I will — once again — be part of a very moving Tribute of Light ceremony with the American Cancer Society to light the tree at PPG Place. This year, seven-year-old Gabriel Aguirre of Rayburn Township, Armstrong County, will light the 65-foot tall tree! The folks at Highwood Properties (the owners of PPG Place) do a wonderful job helping to coordinate the evening.
If you’re coming, the Robert Morris University figure skaters take to the ice a little after 4:30 with the East End Kids choral group performing at 5 p.m. with the tree lighting immediately after.
Light Up Night can be overwhelming, too. For several years, I tried making it to every lighting/window unveiling and trying to eat dinner and watch fireworks. And that was after coordinating with a large group of people to go. Was fun but stressful and I never saw anything.
Now I try to mosey my way around and try to meet up with folks along the way.
But if you’re looking to see some of the tree lightings and ceremonies, here’s my advice:
Also, take the T or bus. Yeah, it’ll be crowded. Yes, there will be people who haven’t used the T since last Light Up Night, but if you don’t take public transit, you’ll be a Grinch sitting in traffic hating the holidays. I always feel so awful for people stopped on the Parkway East as I’m on the transit bridge above cruising along. And after the fireworks, stay in town a bit — get a drink, walk around … do something, because otherwise your trolley ride back will be so packed you’ll know the exact brand of deodorant of the eight people next to you.
The Trib offers some great advice for navigating Light Up Night.
And here is the Downtown Pittsburgh Partnership PDF, detailing all of the information, including schedules and descriptions.
And don’t just visit on Light Up Night. There’s not enough time to see the gingerbread houses at the PPG Wintergarden or all of the great little artists and vendors at the Holiday Market at Market Square. Come Downtown for the holidays!
My holiday greeting to you: click/tap here.
