I CANNOT CLAIM TO BE A HUGE WHITE SOX FAN (or a Cubs fan, either), but you cannot grow up in Chicago without appreciaiting the historical achievement of a Chicago club winning the World Series. And when hundreds of thousands of people turn up o­n your doorstep -- in this case, the La Salle Street "Canyon" -- for the tickertape victory parade, it's impossible not to notice. It was enough of a spectacle that I thought a few of of y'all might enjoy the sights and sounds of the day. But I don't want to slow down the page further, so if you want the full coverage, just click the "Read more..." link at the bottom of this entry.

The city was decked out in Sox regaila, from the Picasso in Daley Plaza to the lions at the Art Institute and the archer statue. Though the parade began at the ballpark and visited several neighborhoods o­n the south side, the bulk of the action was right along La Salle Street.

Following a phalanx of mounted police, the appearance of a float bearing the Sox cow gave the revelry a slightly debauched, "we're running around with the golden calf from the Ten Commandments" vibe...

The view from my boss' office was pretty close to those in the AP's slideshow, though you may want to play the AP video for an appreciation of the tickertape blizzard.

The team made its way through the blizzard atop a set of double decker buses. Fans snapped a few of Rowand, Blum, Crede, World Series MVP Jermaine Dye (Reuters has him hoisting the trophy), El Duque brandishing a cigar, and manager Ozzie Guillen looking ready to overthrow Venezuela's Hugo Chavez or Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley.

The crowd at the intersection of La Salle and Wacker, where the parade ended, was enormous and grew as those o­n La Salle poured eastward. A rally folllowed, during which first baseman (and free agent) Paul Konerko gave the ball he caught for the last out of the Series to Sox general partner Jerry Reinsdorf and former Journey singer Steve Perry led the team in a horrific rendition of "Don't Stop Believin."

If you want even more, check out the photo galleries and videos from ABC7, including a couple of longtime club organist Nancy Faust, and CBS2, as well as the White Sox and local blog coverage from Chicagoist.