St. Louis was hardly singing the Blues on Wednesday night. But it was singing the city's hockey team's praises.
After the St. Louis Blues beat the Boston Bruins in a dominant performance in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals, fans cheered at watch parties and hit the streets in celebration.
Though the team captured the Stanley Cup on the road, hometown fans cheered in St. Louis at Busch Stadium, home of the Cardinals baseball team, and at the Enterprise Center, which is where the Blues play.
"Next to getting married and having my children, this is the most amazing moment of my life," Melissa DePew, a Blues fan since the 1970s who watched a broadcast of the game from the Enterprise Center, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch newspaper.
Tickets to the watch party at the Enterprise Center for Game 7 sold out within 10 minutes, the Post-Dispatch reported Monday.
It’s the Blues first NHL championship title since the team was added to the league in 1967. The Blues were the last of the six teams that joined the league that year to have won the championship.
Dozens of fans lined up outside a St. Louis County Dick’s Sporting Goods store to snap up championship gear Wednesday night, NBC affiliate KSDK reported. Aerial video showed jubilant crowds streaming out into downtown streets after the historic win.
But the celebration appeared to have stayed safe. St. Louis police reported no arrests related to the game as of shortly before midnight and described the mood as celebratory and peaceful.
Boston’s Mayor, Marty Walsh, tweeted his congratulations to the Bruins for what he said was a season to remember, and he also congratulated the Blues for the Stanley Cup win.
For one man, the win earned him more than just bragging rights: KSDK reported that Scott Berry put $400 on the Blues to win back in January, and with Wednesday’s win stands to collect around $100,000 on the 250-1 odds.
One fan, identified only as Robert in live coverage outside watch parties at the two stadiums in downtown St. Louis, told KSDK that he was high-fiving fans so much that it came with a price.
"As all the high-fives were going on, I lost my wedding ring," he told the station, who added that when his team won "it was hard not to cry."
And what did his wife have to say? "Surprisingly nothing," he told KSDK. "I could see some anger and sadness, but she understands."
"And I think she's also willing to accept silver for silver," he said, referring to the ring and the Stanley Cup.
