More 'Marry me, Jeremy' signs at Astros parade than Phillies' hits in World Series

Monday, November 7, 2022

Here's what you missed at the Houston Astros Championship Parade

From passionate Jeremy Peña fans to a bearded dragon and of course... the trophy, here are the best moments from the parade.

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- They wanted Houston, so they got us. Houstonians went nuts Saturday night when the Astros brought the World Series Championship home, and the celebrations continue on Monday.

In case you've been living under a rock, Monday's parade in downtown Houston honored the team and all of our favorite players for their hard work all season.

Some fans got to downtown at about 4:30 a.m.

ABC13 spoke to one mother and daughter duo who were seen wearing gold crowns in honor of the kings of Major League Baseball. They told us they have plans to follow the team next season and watch them at other stadiums.

One million fans are expected at the parade, but not all 1 million happen to be Houstonians. We ran into several Astros fans who traveled pretty far to come celebrate and show their support.

ABC13 morning anchor Samica Knight spoke to the Morgan family from Cleveland. Another young man traveled from Midland, Texas.

"They like the Rangers over there, but me, I'm H-town over here!" that fan said.

It seems like Samica was positioned where all the biggest fans were along the parade line. She found one woman, Maria, who set up a mini home office outside and brought her laptop so she could work remotely and partake in all the Astros fun at the same time.

"I have to come represent. That's the advantage of working remote. Payroll has to be in, so I have to get to work," Maria said.

Meanwhile, we met another fan who skipped work, but get this; her boss told her that if she made it on camera while at the parade, she would get a day off work with pay.

Now, everyone has a favorite player they're excited to see at the parade, and one fan favorite is no other than the 25-year-old World Series MVP, Jeremy Pena.

"I've been on Cloud 9. I still haven't processed everything that's going on. This is special," Pena said hours before the parade.

Pena came in this season and replaced former Astro Carlos Correa after he chose not to re-sign with the team and left to the Minnesota Twins.

ABC13 reporter Miya Shay saw one fan who chose not to get rid of his Correa jersey but instead put tape over the last name on the back of his jersey and write "Pena" over it.

He's got one very special fan holding the cutest sign for him. The sign reads, "Pena, send me a heart" because he's known for making a heart with his signs to fans after scoring a home run or making a special play.

"He does it like this," the little girl said while making a heart shape with her hands.

And in case you missed all the fans' signs, we wanted to show you the number of signs that read, "Marry me, Jeremy." There were more of those signs than Philadelphia Phillies' hits in the World Series.

Here is a look at just a few of them:

So, Jeremy, if you're reading this, we spoke to one lady, Fiona, who had one of those signs. She has a message for you.

"I'm a cougar. Grrrr," she said while holding up the 'Marry me, Jeremy' sign. "I'm proposing to Jeremy Pena. As far as I know, it's OK. I'm not interfering with anything. I've done my research," Fiona said.

While she'll be on the lookout for Pena, one man is excited to see Yuli Gurriel, a player we may not be seeing in an Astros uniform after this season.

"I'm excited to see Yuli because I don't know if we'll see him next year," he said.

We also caught up with 3rd baseman Alex Bregman hours before the parade started.

"It's a dream come true for every single person here. Everybody in that clubhouse believed we could do it, and I think that's a big reason why we did do it," Bregman said.

He talked about a finger injury but said he won't be needing surgery on it.

"Four weeks and we'll be back to being able to anything," Bregman said.

He wanted to make sure no one had a reason to miss out on the celebrations. He even entered the chat when he found out that Katy ISD had not canceled school for students. After all, most other school districts had.

That just goes to show much the players love and adore Houston and its fans.

One player is known for his motto, "Bury me in the H." This is what pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. told ABC13 sports reporter Adam Winkler now that he's brought the city two World Series.

"I've got to start looking for my plot," McCullers said with a laugh.

McCullers, who pitched Game 3 in the World Series, said he feel like the city of Houston really truly deserves this.

"This is pandemonium. 2017 was crazy, but I feel like our fans have grown. The level of support for us has gone through the moon," he said.

Pitcher Framber Valdez shares in that same appreciation for us all.

"The last 48 hours have been filled with a lot of emotions, a lot of pride, and I'm very happy for us and the Astros fans," Valdez said.

Houston rapper Trae Tha Truth was on a float during the parade and he was very confident another World Series is in Houston's future.

"It's big for the city, and we're going to do it again next year," he said.

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