Urban students turned out en masse at the Giants Parade in downtown San Francisco on Nov. 3 to celebrate the city’s first World Series victory.

So many students wanted to attend the parade that Dean of Student Life Charlotte Worsley decided to end the school day early. Many students eagerly raced out the doors at 10:25 a.m., departing on bike, bus or foot to get a good view of the parade.

Below, the reporters, editors and photographers of The Urban Legend report on their experiences at the parade. Please use the comment form at the end of the story to describe your own.

Zoe Pleasure (’12):
The journey down(town) was just as memorable as the actual parade. I walked down Page Street with about 20 other Urban students. We had multiple cars honk at us because of our brightly colored Giants clothing. Also, a group of running Urban teachers passed us when we were walked and we shared a collective cheer. As I approached the Civic Center, I could feel the excitement building. Finally when we reached the Civic Center, it was packed full of people. There were fans hanging off of traffic lights and standing on top of bus shelters just to get a view of their favorite players. I realized that I would never be able to see any of the players when standing in the center of the craziness. So, Cali Slepin (’12), Hannah Sears (’12), Lindsey Milgrom (’12) and I decided to walk down Market Street in order to get a better view. As we were walking, I saw Brian Wilson stroking his beard and Buster Posey with his young wife. The excitement was palpable all down and around Market Street.

Cody Siler (’13):

The parade was insane. I got there at about 11:45 a.m., and my friends and I fought our way through the crowd to find another group. Cell phone service was down in that whole area. People were going crazy. I saw about 35 people climbing up a fire escape to get onto a nearby roof while the owners of the building yelled at them to get down.

Adrienne von Schulthess (’11):
The crowd grew more and more orange and black as we approached City Hall. At Civic Center we started to lose track of each other and grabbed hands. People were climbing on everything. They climbed on art, buildings, trees and bus stops. Giving up on a view at the Civic Center we headed down Market Street. We tried to press forward, but the crowd was too dense. Everyone was yelling and at random points would break into Giants cheers. When the floats finally reached us, the hands carrying cameras that were raised in the air obscured our view. I saw the heads of the Giants between these hands and jumped up and down. The crowd pressed in and the noise level increased.

Megan Madden (’12):

We were in a crowd that enclosed us on all sides. There was a point where we got really claustrophobic and people wouldn’t let us through, you definitely had to push sometimes. Tons of smoke in the air, drunken laughter. We walked from school to the parade down Fell Street … in the Lower Haight and Hayes Valley it was almost silent; there was barely any sign of life. It felt like the entire city was there, and that the rest was abandoned. All kinds of people. Babies and old men. Once we hit the crowd, there was nothing that could be seen but a sea of bodies on all sides, locking you in place. Every once in a while a cheer would come rippling through the crowd from various directions, though no one cheering seemed to know what we were cheering about. The sound was shockingly charged. There were people pouring out the windows, climbing up lampposts and streetlights, crowded on roofs and building ledges. There were people swimming in the fountain. We saw tons of Urban students, surprisingly, even though we hadn’t come with them. Even though it was the largest crowd I’ve ever been in in my life, I spotted about 15 of the people I see every day. Muni was free … people were giving themselves up to the chaos.

Jenna Waldman (’12):
School was dismissed at 10:30 a.m. and my friends and I immediately rushed to the N-Judah streetcar stop. Several trains passed us, completely overflowing with people all dressed in black and orange. Finally a train stopped to let somebody off, and I was determined to get on. Leading several other Urban students, I pushed my way onto the train and squeezed myself between fans of all ages. Everybody was both uncomfortable and extremely excited. When the train stopped at Civic Center, we were again faced with a throng of people trying to get out of the station. The slow-moving line to exit the station up the stairs and escalator was not doing it for me, so I decided on an alternative. I bounded up the down escalator and bypassed a lot of people who cheered me as I ran. When I arrived at the Civic Center, the crowd was incredible. “Let’s go Giants” and “UUU-Ribe!” sounded through the crowd as people waved rally towels and held up posters that said such slogans as “Fear the Beard” and “Let Tim Smoke.” I again pushed myself through the massive crowds and ended up in a great spot with a view of the screen projecting the parade and the speeches. I was standing for four hours, and though my knees were throbbing by the end, the experience was one I will never forget.

Marney Kline (’13):
At the Giants parade, I was jostled this and way and that by throngs of enthusiastic Giants fans. There were people of all sizes, ages and races. Most of the little children were overwhelmed, over-heated, and grumpy. I had many risky encounters with ill-tempered teenagers who liked to complain. After all, their makeup was running. The sun beat down mercilessly on the crowd and I could turn any which way and get a substantial gander of the sweat leaking out of someone’s pores. My surroundings were at times harsh, and people were not shy with their bodily fluids, but it did not put a damper on my spirit.

Hannah Sears (’12):
The San Francisco Civic Center made me feel like a sardine. A young girl hung off the edge of a street light, dangling over a blanket of heads as I was thrown against a barricade by the overwhelming crowd. I saw a man dressed as Brian Wilson’s “The Machine” ride by on the shoulders of a friend and a huge roar erupted. It felt like all the different facets of San Francisco life were united over this victory. Everyone was cheering for the same cause even though most of the time San Franciscans have differering values and priorities. Getting out of school early was a good decision by the administration since many students were planning on skipping school to attend. It wouldn’t have been fair to other students and especially to teachers to expect them to sit in a half-empty class and teach and learn while knowing everyone else is out celebrating something that hasn’t happened in over half a century.

Jason Cinti (’12):
The atmosphere of the parade can be perfectly described by the walk to get to the Civic Center. As a group of my friends walked down Page Street to the parade in black and orange, people on the streets waved, honked their horns, and screamed “Go Giants!” as we walked by. When I got to the parade, I felt as if the whole city was confined within four blocks. I have never seen so many people in my whole life! When I saw the cable cars roll by with the players that I admire so dearly, I suddenly experienced a feeling that I have never felt before. The team that I spent my whole life following finally did it: No more torture, no more years of losing, no more disapointing seasons that damper my confidence in the team. We won the whole thing, and to celebrate this excitement with the rest of the city was beyond belief.

Jonathan Baer (’13):
The Giants Parade was an experience that will always be remembered. Looking out across the crowd of seemingly infinite black and orange people in front of City Hall and down Market Street, made it seem like everybody in the city was an avid Giants fan. Among the crowd, there were the people who had witnessed San Francisco baseball from Seal Stadium, to Candlestick Park, and all the way up to AT&T Park. Accompanying them were the very noticeable youth who were cheering and saluting the Giants and their bright future. The enthusiasm that was exhibited by San Francisco is making the three-and-a-half month wait till the next baseball season seem like an eternity.