Fans outside game 4. (Photo by Victoria Pickering)

Fans outside game 4. (Photo by Victoria Pickering)

Today, the city of Washington celebrates.

Down Constitution Ave, from 17th St. NW to 7th St. NW, residents of the District (and its surrounding areas) are engaging in merrymaking the likes of which a D.C. Tuesday morning has possibly never seen. More than 100,000 people are expected to attend the Stanley Cup Parade to celebrate the Washington Capitals’ first win in franchise history, and crowds are already living up to expectations.

The parade technically started this morning at 11, but preparation started way before that. This Capitals superfan takes the cake on planning ahead:

For those of us lacking in this sort of admirable dedication, the festivities started early this morning. Metro was an utter mess, as predicted, with the day’s normal commuters traveling to work in a sea of (much happier) red jerseys.

When those commuters reached the site of the rally, their numbers were even more intimidating (and their joy even more evident). This is what it looked like on the Mall an hour and a half before the parade was even slated to begin:

Of course, as evidenced by his antics in the weeks since the Capitals won the Cup, no one is happier or better prepared to celebrate than Alexander Ovechkin, team captain and protector of the Stanley Cup. Here he is pregaming the parade at 9:30 this morning, as captured on his teammate Devante Smith-Pelly’s Instagram stories.

Still, the crowd is pretty happy, too. Take a gander at my personal favorite makeshift Stanley Cup, which makes very creative use of a pasta strainer:

And don’t worry: after an emergency situation broke out this morning, police took control of matters and provided relief to early-gathering crowds:

If there’s anything we can learn from today, it’s that some among us are just more dedicated to celebration than others. Behold, the most festive Capitals fan at the Parade—so festive, in fact, it’s actually kind of creepy.

Here we have a zoomed out view as of shortly after 11 this morning: Washingtonians are a noticeably red blip on the Mall.

The dedication of some might well get them in trouble tomorrow, but who can blame them?

In fact, some among us have already gotten in trouble, and they don’t appear to regret it even a little bit.

In case you happened to show up to the Parade without a red shirt on (what are you doing?), the District’s sidewalk shirt sellers have got you covered.

The Eastern High marching band is there, after a Twitter campaign to get invited to perform.

Also, in case you’re confused about what Ovechkin really looks like, here’s a tip: he’s the one hoisting the cup. (No, not the pasta strainer version).

See, here he is:

This post has been updated.

Filed Under: capitals, Stanley Cup,