On Wednesday, June 22, 2016, Cleveland held the biggest sports parade recorded in history, drawing in over 1.3 million people. The Cleveland Cavaliers were able to clinch their fourth victory over the Golden State Warriors, deeming them the 2016 NBA Champions in Game 7, which took place the Sunday before the parade.

What made this championship stand out was the fact that it is Cleveland’s first title in 52 years.

With less than a minute left in the series, Kyrie Irving got the ball and heaved up a contested three-point shot as we were biting our nails at the edge of our seats. When he made the shot, Clevelanders felt a little weight lifted from their shoulders, as we now had the lead with the end of the game in sight. As the game reached its conclusion, LeBron James went in for an aggressive dunk but he was fouled. On his way down he landed on his wrist wrong and it seemed as if he was down and out. He was able to shake it off and line up for his free throws, as we only needed one to go into pretty much lock in the game. He missed his first free throw, which worried fans to think that his wrist was going to potentially hold the city back from yet another championship. Time seemed to move in slow motion as LeBron lined up for his second free throw. We needed this. Despite whatever injuries he may have suffered, LeBron James was able to sink his second free throw, giving the Cavs a cushion with only a few seconds left on the clock. The Warriors drove the ball in and were able to get off two shots within the time limit but were unsuccessful. The buzzer sounded and the bench rushed the court. We then see LeBron collapse in tears of celebration because he was finally able to fulfill his promise to bring a championship to Cleveland. The championship was finally ours.

Back in Cleveland, you didn’t need to have been watching the game to know the Cavs won, as entire neighborhoods stormed outside and shouted in celebration. On the roads, drivers were flashing their lights and honking their horns with the passengers also screaming in celebration.

We also got a glimpse of Wednesday’s celebration at the conclusion of the game, as fans from all over Cleveland flooded the streets of downtown Cleveland. It got to a point where downtown was closed off to any incoming traffic because there were that many people.

At the conclusion of Sunday night, we eagerly checked the Internet to see the day and time of the long-awaited parade of champions. This was an impossible task as the information and plans of the parade were withheld by the city in order to not jinx the Cavs.

Fans from all over made plans to be in downtown Cleveland for the parade, some traveling across the country and others coming from entirely different countries. Some were seen on the grounds of the parade’s rally point up to 12 hours before the parade took place. On the day of the parade, some fans were forced to wait up to four hours for a ride on the public rapid subway, which is the most efficient way to get downtown.

Once the parade started, there was a bit of a delay because there were enough people to fill both the streets and sidewalks of the entire length of the parade and then some.

Stipe Miocic, who is the UFC Heavyweight Champion, was the first to greet and acknowledge fans. He came down 9th Street proudly showing off his newly earned belt. Then came the Lake Erie Monsters, who recently dominated this past season and obtained the Calder cup. Each member of the team took turns wielding the trophy as the crowd went crazy. We were then honored to have Jim Brown make an appearance for the parade, as he was responsible for winning Cleveland’s last title and being the LeBron of his era 52 years ago. Then came the trophy. Once Clevelanders finally got a glimpse of the trophy it set in that it wasn’t a dream and it was finally our turn to call ourselves a championship city, although the trophy was on its own float with no one holding it. Finally, the team made an appearance with Tyronn Lue leading and greeting us with pure excitement. We then saw a shirtless JR Smith, Kyrie Irving, who appeared to be eating a doughnut at one point, Mozgov, Kevin Love, and of course LeBron James, etc. After an extremely long parade the team met at the rally point where LeBron gave a controversial speech, using language not suitable for a family environment, as well as the historical moment of LeBron holding the championship trophy with Cleveland legend Jim Brown.

Some may have gotten the theme of the parade confused, as many thought it was solely a celebration for the Cavs. For Clevelanders, it was a lot more than that. For Clevelanders, it was the breaking of a curse that was preventing Cleveland from obtaining a title. Clevelanders were celebrating because they could now wear their team colors with pride no matter where they were. We were celebrating because the championship gave the city hope of being on top again like we were in the early '50s. It was a celebration for Cleveland and all the years we have stayed loyal to our teams through all the mocking. It was reported that Cleveland showed the world how to celebrate because that’s exactly what it was, the best celebration in history.

As a city, we plan on taking this championship and building on it, taking the Indians and the Browns along for the ride. We can only look towards the future with our heads held high, for this is Believeland, where we stand “all in” against the odds.