Panthers, fans make most of rain delay before parade

A little rain doesn’t have to dampen the party, right?

Amid a rain storm in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. ahead of the Florida Panthers’ championship parade on Sunday, players and fans alike stuck it out in the less-than-ideal weather to savor every moment of the historic celebration.

While the start of the parade was delayed slightly, players did what they could to keep fans entertained.

Matthew Tkachuk – wearing his WWE championship belt – stepped off the bus to greet fans while they waited for the festivities to get underway.

The team started throwing beach balls off the bus while fans continued to wait in the storm – smiles and all – for the parade to get started.

The fans even started cheering Aleksander Barkov’s name as he raised the Stanley Cup.

Meanwhile, Aaron Ekblad did his best "Mean Girls" impression with his weather report, which may or may not be accurate.

The parade got underway around 11:40 a.m. ET, about a 40-minute delay, so the slight wait seemed to be well worth it for the players and fans.