It's OK to say the word now:
PARADE!
And oh, how we've waited for this one.
The last time the Phillies won a World Series in 1980, fans threw boxloads of computer punch cards and shredded paper from office windows onto Broad Street.
Tomorrow, you're more likely to see water-soluble, eco-friendly confetti flying around.
Police expect more than a million people to converge on Center City to watch the Phillies take their noontime victory ride on flatbed trucks from 20th and Market Streets, around City Hall, down Broad Street to Citizens Bank Park.
An hour-long rally at the ball park should begin at 1:45 p.m. and be broadcast live to fans across the street at Lincoln Financial Field. Gates at both stadiums will open at 10 a.m., but only fans with tickets will be allowed in. Free tickets to the event were snapped up within an hour of going online at the Phillies' Web site today.
Because of the expected crush of people, Mayor Michael Nutter is urging fans to take public transportation. But he is asking everyone to understand that SEPTA will be stretched to the limit.
Parking on Broad Street will be banned until the parade passes; the Philadelphia Parking Authority warns that violators' cars will be towed. The city is also telling downtown businesses not to plan deliveries during the parade.
At a press conference at Citizens Bank Park today, Nutter urged restraint.
"Take your patience pill," he said. "You can be joyous, but you can't be a jackass."
Too many of the latter spoiled the party last night. Police made 76 arrests and reported that 10 Center City businesses were vandalized. To boost coverage, Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey said the department has canceled days-off for tomorrow and will extend shifts.
Nutter added that police will be "very aggressive" about going after vandals.
Police also have asked newspaper companies to remove honor boxes along the parade route so revellers won't throw them through windows - which happened last night.
For the 1980 World Series parade, state liquor stores in Philadelphia were shut down and Center City banks were closed, out of fear that police would be occupied elsewhere.
This time, liquor stores will be open, according to the Liquor Control Board.
However, Commerce Bank, a target of vandalism last night, will temporarily close branches along the parade route. Rebecca Acevedo, a bank spokeswoman, said the decision was based on employee-safety concerns.
More than a dozen Philadelphia businesses - including Comcast, PNC, PECO and Tastykake - have donated "hundreds of thousands of dollars" to help the city pay for police overtime and post-parade cleanup, Nutter said.
"It's because of their support that we're able to put on this celebration," Nutter said.
Players will take the World Series trophy along on their joy ride down Broad Street. Joining them will be the Phillies Phanatic and ball girls. Scott Mirkin, hired by the city and Phillies to arrange the event, said the parade would be "modest, simple, basic."
For the 1980 parade, almost a million people lined the route. A shower of streamers, confetti and toilet paper rained down on the players from office windows. People stood on roofs, sat on ledges and hung out windows.
But in the annals of Philadelphia sports parades, the biggest crowd turned out for the 1974 celebration of the Flyers' Stanley Cup victory. More than two million fans flocked to Broad Street.
Not far behind was the 1983 parade for the champion 76ers, which drew an estimated 1.7 million supporters.
With victory parades so few and far between in Philadelphia, fans relish the chance to celebrate. Tom Nace, 56, of Washington Township, Gloucester County, will be among them tomorrow.
Waiting at Modell's Sporting Goods in the Cherry Hill Mall, with an arm-load of T-shirts for everyone in his family, he said he is taking his son and daughter out of school to go to the parade.
"Normally I wouldn't let them miss a day of school," he said, "but this is an exception."
Nace was 28 for the 1980 World Series parade. He remembers like it was yesterday, the overwhelming crowd, the cheering and the giddiness of victory. He said the parade felt like the whole city was celebrating together.
"The thing is, I wouldn't even say the word 'parade' until the end," Nace said. "I would say, 'Don't say the P-word!' I was terrified of jinxing it."
In front of Nace in a line that wrapped around the Modell store, Linda Dennin, 60, said she'll be staying home with her granddaughter, while the rest of the family goes to the parade.
In 1980, she said, fans were mostly well-behaved. But by the end of that day, the atmosphere became a bit riotous. She imagines that people will let loose a little tomorrow, too.
"We're just so happy," she said. "Look how long everyone's waited. There's a lot of emotion built up."
