The hockey team of the Carolinas is now home.
The Stanley Cup-winning Carolina Hurricanes landed at Raleigh-Durham International Airport on Monday evening.
Fans have followed their success in the postseason the entire way. Some of them were around to welcome them home.
Lord Stanley’s cup is back in Raleigh, after a plane of Hurricanes touched down at Raleigh Durham International Airport to a special water salute.
Jordan Staal, fresh off winning the Conn Smythe trophy, deplaned with the cup and hoisted it triumphantly overhead.
The Garcia siblings are over the moon at the Canes winning a second Stanley Cup trophy, but the first cup of their young lifetimes.
“I’m feeling really excited and happy to see them win the Stanley Cup,” Camila Garcia said. “Because they worked so hard this season, and they’re just a really nice team, and they are great.”
Her older brother, Jorge Garcia, 11, was beside himself with joy.
“Just amazement. They worked hard all season and I got to see them win the cup,” Jorge Garcia said.
It’s no cliché to say it was the opportunity of a lifetime.
Thousands, time and again, gathered at watch party after watch party, only to see the Canes be victorious night after night.
The usual suspects — the fans in their vaunted black and red jerseys — stood patiently waiting for the team’s return.
It was a more high-profile landing than usual for RDU.
A Carolina Hurricanes fan creates a sign in hopes of a repeat championship next season.
Another brother and sister were excited. “We are welcoming the greatest trophy in sports,” Sterling Little said.
He and his sister, A.P. Little, said summer fun can wait because they have hockey on the brain.
“It’s just something that we want to be a part of, and it’s just huge that we won,” A.P. Little said.
Fans also have one more thing to look forward to besides the return of the Carolina Hurricanes. There will be a parade this Saturday in Downtown Raleigh to celebrate the Canes Stanley Cup Trophy.