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Florida Panthers win Stanley Cup over Heat and Marlins. All South Florida Sports

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Florida Panthers win Stanley Cup over Heat and Marlins. All South Florida Sports

Some arrived early Sunday morning, around 6:30 a.m.

At 7:30 a.m. we were considered late. By 9 a.m., the Fort Lauderdale bar known as the Elbo Room was sold out. Thousands of fans made sure to secure their tickets for the Florida Panthers parade to celebrate the first Stanley Cup in franchise history.

The event caps off a weeklong celebration for a team that many thought wouldn’t last in the NHL when it was first formed in 1993-94. Thirty-one years later, the Panthers can say they’ve thrown the best post-championship celebration in South Florida sports.

Not the Marlins. Not the heat. And certainly not the Dolphins, who last tasted a title in 1974.

Florida Panthers pack Elbo Room for Stanley Cup parade

The Panthers spent most of their career playing in anonymity. Fans have always been drawn to the region’s more established franchises, but winning means support.

It started last year when they reached the final only to lose to the Las Vegas Knights. It continued this season with the Panthers cruising through the playoffs before holding off the Edmonton Oilers in seven games.

Thousands of fans hit Fort Lauderdale beach to celebrate Florida Panthers' Stanley Cup victory

The party started the next morning, with Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk and other players bringing the Stanley Cup to the Elbo Room, Fort Lauderdale’s oldest bar. The Cup posed with fans. It dipped into the Atlantic Ocean. It was even used as a pasta bowl for Panthers legend Robert Luongo.

And Sunday morning is just the beginning of what should be an epic day for South Florida sports.

Shandel Richardson is the editor of Inside The Heat. You can contact him at [email protected]

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