Bolts celebrate Stanley Cup win with a uniquely Tampa theme

The Tampa Bay Lightning commemorated their 2020 Stanley Cup championship in the most Tampa way possible: by showing off their trophy to the adoring public with a boat parade up the Hillsborough River.
It was the hockey version of Gasparilla, without the beads.

From Alex Killorn hopping on a jet ski in a scene straight out of Dock Talk with Killer to Braydon Coburn jumping off the top of a boat canopy into the Hillsborough River to Pat Maroon's shirtless antics at Raymond James Stadium, I attempted to document the scene in a running diary on the once-in-a-lifetime event.
Here's how the Lightning celebrated.
At least, what we can remember from it.
3:55 p.m. - I pull up to Marjorie Park Marina and already there are plenty of people waiting for the Bolts' arrival and the boat parade to get started. Planners are making last-minute checks of the boats to ensure they're fully stocked for the more than three-hour ride up Seddon Channel to the Hillsborough River and Rick's On The River, where the group will disembark. Media crews have gathered and have their cameras trained on the parking lot waiting for the Bolts' arrival. Local dignitaries like Tampa mayor Jane Castor are on hand for the festivities. The boats are docked throughout the marina, each one with a couple of players' names draped over the side so they know which boat they're assigned too (and so fans can identify who's on which boat during the parade). We'll learn soon enough those assignments are just a suggestion.

4:40 - The Lightning have arrived on the same open-air trolleys that brought them from the jet center to AMALIE Arena on their return to Tampa from Edmonton a day earlier. Victor Hedman steps off with the Conn Smythe Trophy. Steven Stamkos is carrying the Stanley Cup. Jon Cooper has a cigar in his mouth and the Prince of Wales Trophy in his hands. The Lightning head coach conducts an impromptu press conference in the parking lot of the marina where he's asked what he'd like to tell the Tampa Bay fans.
"When we scored a goal (in the Cup Final), they showed a live shot of AMALIE Arena, it gave our team chills," he says. "And I'm telling you, when we needed that extra effort, we talked about it. 'Look at our fans back there. They're pulling in the same direction as we are.' We can't wait to celebrate with them."
4:45 - The giant Pat Maroon head that was taped to the glass during the restart training camp has made its triumphant return and is being carried by Maroon's wife. Some of the players are wearing hats that read 'Champagne Campaign', including Stamkos.
"It's a dream come true for all of us," he tells reporters as he enters the boat house carrying the Cup.

4:50 - Beer chugging out of the Cup has commenced on the lawn. Stamkos downs one, then lifts the Cup for Yanni Gourde to do the same.
4:52 - I've been told there is a media boat that will follow alongside the parade and assume I'll be in this boat. But in talking with Lightning Foundation and community events manager Sarah Costello, who, ironically enough, is assigning people to boats almost a year to the day later as she did for Coop's Catch for Kids October 1, 2019, tells me to get on whatever boat I want to as long as there's room. Digital video coordinator Mike O'Halloran tells me he'll be shooting video on a boat with Alex Killorn, Mathieu Joseph, Tyler Johnson and Anthony Cirelli and there should be plenty of room.
I decide this is my boat.
5:02 - Killorn is a wearing a Tampa Bay Rays jersey and has a WWE-style belt around his waist that has the Lightning logo and reads '2020 Stanley Cup Champions'.
5:10 - One of the organizers calls out for Nikita Kucherov and Alexander Volkov to get on their boat, but they're nowhere to be found. A couple minutes later, we find them. They're floating down the river on another boat with Andrei Vasilevskiy and Mikhail Sergachev. Whoever thought they were going to split up the Russians had another thing coming.

5:48 - I think I picked the right boat.
5:58 - Less than an hour into the parade, we haven't even reached the convention center yet and we're running dangerously low on drinks. Fortunately, Killorn's buddy James pulls up beside the boat on his jet ski. James helped in the making of the viral Bolts are Back video from the pause. Remember the guy wearing the Boston Bruins t-shirt that gets doused with water and then later the Toronto Maple Leafs fan who gets pushed into the water by Erik Cernak?
That's James.
Today, he's saved the day yet again with a case of beer and a crate full of mixers that we happily pull over the side and into our boat.
6:09 - You knew this was happening. Killorn and James switch places, and Killorn hops onto the jet ski while James hops in our boat. Killorn throws on a life jacket and speeds away. The crowd is going berserk. People are everywhere: on the bridge to Harbour Island, around the docks surrounding American Social, lined up from one end of the Convention Center to the other. Tampa showed up. The atmosphere is tremendous. The players are really getting a charge from the number of fans that showed up.

6:17 - Fans have started to throw cans of beers toward our boat for the players to drink. Approximately one in 10 actually make it in the boat. Most tosses are short, and the beer ends up in the water. A couple hit the side of the boat, which I'm sure our captain is delighted to see (and hear…it sounds like we're under fire when one strikes the boat directly). One is going over the boat, but O'Halloran reaches out with his right arm and snags it while continuing to shoot video with the camera in his left.
The players are impressed and applaud his effort.
"I can pretty much retire now," O'Halloran says.
6:24 - What a beautifully-perfect day it is weather-wise for a boat parade. We're in the golden hour, and the downtown Tampa skyline, particularly the Beer Can building, look stunning. Even if there weren't thousands of fans lining the river bank cheering continuously, this boat trip would be a pretty cool experience.
6:29 - We discover our boat has a bathroom, which is the most clutch find of the evening. It's tucked under the captain's steering console and is only about four feet tall once inside, though, so you have to decide if you're going to get on your knees and pee and risk getting unidentified liquids on your pants or squat as low as you can while still remaining standing. I opt for the latter and somehow manage to keep myself from falling over. Nobody can find the flush button, however, so by the time we disembark, the toilet is nearly overflowing.
6:40 - We're now passing the Straz Center. We look back down river, and here comes Alex Killorn speeding to catch up to us on the jet ski. He climbs aboard the boat, and the jet ski is tied up alongside. We'll drag it the rest of the parade. I ask him what he did while on the jet ski, and he says he went to pick up Steven Stamkos and they rode around the basin while Stamkos held the Cup. I can only imagine what that scene was like.

6:45 - My phone has died from all the video I've been taking. I brought a backup battery pack, but it's useless. O'Halloran is down to 22 percent on his cell but lets me use it so I can keep tweeting. Sometimes, it takes an entire team effort.
7:00 - Killorn is letting us take pictures of the championship belt he's been wearing all afternoon. I ask him how he got it made.
"We got back to the hotel after winning the Cup and it was just sitting in the room," Killorn says.
The belt's become a pretty popular accessory today.

7:17 - We've reached Rick's on the River. I was told earlier the team was going to have a meal here before leaving for the celebration at Raymond James Stadium, but it appears the boat parade lasted longer than expected because we're only here for about 30 minutes, standing in the parking lot and basking in the awesomeness of the parade we just experienced before getting back on the trolleys. In that brief time, though, the staff at Rick's hooks me up with a cell phone charger in the manager's office that I can plug into. By the time we leave, I'm back up to 44 percent. And somehow I remember to grab my cell phone before leaving Rick's, which is a minor victory for me.
7:55 - I'm on a trolley with Braydon Coburn, Steven Stamkos, Ryan McDonagh, Victor Hedman and a shirtless Pat Maroon. Coburn is with his wife and kids. His son is glued to the window, watching all the people lined up along the street as we make our way to Raymond James. I can only imagine the memories he'll take from this experience.
8:12 - We arrive at Raymond James and enter Bar 76, where food and drinks have been set up for us. The few minutes we spend in here allow everybody the chance to gear up for the celebration inside the stadium about to commence.
8:47 - The scene inside Raymond James is electric. Even though the stadium is only about a fifth full due to social distancing guidelines, it's plenty loud. There's a highlight video showing on the Jumbotron of the Lightning's championship run. Everybody's transfixed by it. The Lightning Vision crew led by vice president of game presentation John Franzone has outdone themselves yet again.

9:10 - The team is being introduced to the crowd one by one, starting with the hockey operations staff, then the coaches and finally the players. Hedman receives a loud ovation as he carries the Conn Smythe trophy to the stage. Stamkos gets the biggest cheer of all as he lifts the Cup for the crowd. Sonya Bryson is here to sing the National Anthem. Her cheer is as loud as the players'.
9:45 - Alex Killorn address the crowd with the Stanley Cup Champions belt draped over his shoulder. At the end of his speech, he relinquishes the belt to a smiling Lightning owner Jeff Vinik.
9:54 - Victor Hedman drinks from the Stanley Cup while Steven Stamkos and Alex Killorn lift it off its podium to pour into Hedman's mouth on the stage below. Doesn't look like a drop is spilled.

9:56 - The shirtless Pat Maroon now has a fedora on his head as he speaks to the crowd. While he's talking, Nikita Kucherov is behind him hugging the Cup.
9:58 - Maroon wants the Raymond James lights turned off and everyone in the crowd to turn their cell phone flashlights on to illuminate the stadium. The only problem: The lights can't be turned off because it'll take 20 minutes for them to power back up. So the lights remain on while fans wave their cell phones in the air. As he exits the stage, Maroon seems undeterred his vision wasn't fully realized.
"That was awesome," he tells the program's producers.
10:01 -- Steven Stamkos proclaims, "This is the best hockey town ever!" The crowd agrees.
10:03 - Stamkos' teammates mob him at the podium after he wraps up his speech, the last of the evening. Confetti shoots out from cannons off stage. Kucherov grabs the Cup and lifts it over his head. I've never seen Kucherov happier in my life.

10:09 - Kucherov and Lightning assistant athletic trainer Mike Poirier hug on the stage. As camera's snap their embrace, Kucherov says, "This is the first person I met when I came to Tampa."
10:13 - The event is over, but the fans aren't ready to leave. A number of them have made their way to the barricade set up outside the end zone concourse area and are chanting "Let's go Lightning," while banging away on their rally drums. Pat Maroon runs over with beers in his arms, handing some out to the fans, spraying others with an open beer and pouring a full one down the throat of a couple lucky fans.

10:17 - Nikita Kucherov is mobbed by the fans at the barricade. He takes selfies with anybody with a camera. One fan grabs him from behind, putting him in a bear hug. Kucherov pats the guy's arm and says something into his ear. He looks completely at peace. These are his people, and Kucherov is here for all of them.
10:28 - We're finally making our way down the escalators to the awaiting buses outside the stadium. As I exit, I look up and see nothing but fans draped over the railings at all levels of the stadium. It's an absolutely wild scene. There are fans as far as the eye can see.
10:40 - The buses are taking us back to AMALIE Arena, a police escort allowing us to get there unimpeded. As we ride, fans honk their car horns, park on Dale Mabry and exit their cars to applaud the team. This happens all the way to the arena. And as I watch the scene unfold, I can't help but think, "This really is the best hockey town."