Downtown Los Angeles was transformed into a sea of Dodger blue and white early Monday, as thousands of fans from across the region filled city streets to get a glimpse of the back-to-back World Series champs.
Crowds at Metro stations and around downtown broke out into spontaneous “Go Dodgers” cheers and chants, while food and T-shirt vendors jockeyed for attention. Loudspeakers blasted Ice Cube, Nate Dogg and, of course, Randy Newman’s “I Love L.A.”
Chuck Berez, a decades-long Dodgers fan from L.A., was walking toward the parade route Monday morning and said the love from the organization and its fans embodied the city itself.
“They stick together … You got to weather the storm and look at the big picture,” Berez said. “The way they came through in the clutch, you know, just showing you their resilience and their experience.”
The parade kicked off at 11 a.m. and was running through downtown, followed by a rally at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers were traveling atop double-decker buses along the route.
Several main roads in and around downtown, as well as some bus routes, have been closed or detoured. Officials said roads would be generally closed south from Chinatown and Cesar Chavez Avenue, west of Spring Street, east of the Harbor (110) Freeway and north of Eighth Street, according to City News Service.
Metro officials urged fans to use the rail system to access the parade, noting that it has seven stations near the parade route.
On an early morning Metro A line train, Dodger fans were squeezing into jam-packed train cars. A pair of fifth-graders filmed a TikTok dance as fans poured in around them.
“Our mom let us skip school today. Don’t tell our teachers!” said Stephanie Lopez, 11.
Mark Krojansky’s two young children, 11 and 9, were also missing school Monday for what he called the “Dodger flu.”
In knee-high Dodgers socks on the intersection of Hope and 7th streets, Krojansky waxed poetic over the fact that his kids had already experienced three Dodger championships. He’d had to wait 30 years between the 1988 win and 2020 — but said it was well worth it.
“This could be the only time for many, many years, you never know,” Krojansky said. “We deserve it.”
The 2025 Dodgers team has been a bright spot during an otherwise tumultuous year for the region, after historic firestorms devastated thousands of homes in January and then widespread immigration sweeps were carried out over the summer by the Trump administration.
But much of Los Angeles was ready to celebrate Monday, two days after the Dodgers took a late lead to defeat the Toronto Blue Jays in an epic Game 7.
This post will be updated.
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