All Blacks get involved in Cubs' victory parade

The All Blacks soaked in all the excitement that comes with 5 million fans celebrating the end of a 108-year drought. Photo / Getty

It was the 7th largest human gathering in history. A victory parade for the World Series champions, the Chicago Cubs, which attracted a bigger crowd than the entire New Zealand population.

And the All Blacks couldn't help themselves, getting amongst all the action in Chicago.

It was a slight upstaging to their 2015 Rugby World Cup victory celebration. That attracted just a few thousand supporters. But exactly a year later, they were able to witness what it's like to celebrate with millions.

The parade left Wrigley Field under clear blue skies and players took turns holding up the glittering World Series trophy as the procession made its way south through miles of downtown streets before ending at Grant Park where a free rally was held.

Barrett, Smith, Perenara and Savea were snapped among the estimated five million-strong crowd of roaring fans in the city's Grant Park celebrating the Cubs' first World Series title in 108 years.

"There's more people here than there are in our whole country," Perenara told the United States' ESPN.

The city's streets were left covered in red, white and blue confetti that was shot from cannons along the parade route.

Barrett took pictures and Perenara used Savea's strong shoulders to lift himself up for the perfect view.

Teammate Waisake Naholo followed Perenara's suit, testing the strength of prop Owen Franks.

Savea told ESPN the Cubs hype was "a little bit strange for us".

"On Wednesday night all the horns were going off. And before, everyone was saying that, win or lose, this town was going to go off. They were right.

"I would have loved to have been at Wrigley Field. It's cool to be part of the parade now, though. You only see this sort of stuff on TV, and you don't get to see it close up. It's something special."

Coach Steve Hansen told ESPN the Cubs' fans expectations were similar to those of the All Blacks fans.

"Being involved in a high-profile team, you are expected to win all the time," he said.

"You can feel the emotion and sometimes you win and sometimes you lose, but the emotion's always the same. It takes you to places you don't normally go."

The five million crowd more than doubled the number at a similar event in 2015 when the National Hockey League's Chicago Blackhawks won their third Stanley Cup in six years.

- NZ Herald and AAP