Astros Parade 2017: Predictions, Viewing Info for World Series Celebration

After winning the first World Series championship in the 55-year history of the franchise, the Houston Astros will gather to celebrate with their fans on Friday.The Astros won a drama-filled series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, including a 5-1 victory in Game 7, to be crowned the champions of Major League Baseball. This came after they posted 101 wins during the regular season, the second-most in franchise history.Here's all you need to know to prepare for Friday's championship celebration in downtown Houston.Astros Championship ParadeDate: Friday, Nov. 3Start Time: 3 p.m. ETWatch: MLB NetworkPredictionsAttendanceWhile every championship parade involves a standard checklist of moments, including player speeches and fan interaction, there are always singular moments that make each one stand out on its own.Because the Astros have never won a championship, the total number of people who will be in attendance at the celebration on Friday figures to be massive. It's not likely to approach the five million fans who made the Chicago Cubs' parade last year the seventh-largest public gathering in human history.The Cubs have a massive national following that few franchises in any sport can match, but the Astros have the potential to at least break the million mark.For starters, according to the United States Census from July 2016, the population in Houston is 2.3 million, compared to 2.7 million in Chicago.Even though the city of Chicago was excited to see the Cubs win, fans had seen sports teams win multiple titles over the past 25 years between the Bulls, Blackhawks and White Sox.Houston hasn't had a sports franchise win a championship since the Rockets won back-to-back titles in 1994 and 1995, so fan anticipation for this moment has been building over the past 22 years.Cleveland, a city with a population of 385,000, drew 1.3 million fans for the Cavaliers' 2016 title celebration. It was the first championship in franchise history and first title for any pro sport team in the city since the Browns in 1964.Given that information, anything less than a million fans in attendance at the parade would have to be considered a disappointment.How Will Justin Verlander Celebrate'It's impossible to overstate how valuable Justin Verlander was for the Astros after being acquired from the Detroit Tigers on Aug. 31. The former American League MVP went 9-1 in 11 appearances with a 1.67 ERA and 81 strikeouts in 70.2 innings.Under normal circumstances, Verlander's attendance wouldn't even be in question. But Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports dropped this bombshell after the Astros won the World Series:Per Brad Galli of WXYZ ABC in Detroit, Verlander's wedding to Kate Upton will force him to miss out on celebrating the first championship of his 13-year Major League Baseball career.Love is in the air for these Astros. All-Star shortstop Carlos Correa proposed to his girlfriend on the field at Dodger Stadium:The good news for Astros fans is Correa and his fiancee still have to plan their wedding, so he doesn't have any other obligation keeping him from Houston on Friday.As for Verlander, he's been engaged to Upton for 18 months and all their plans have been finalized. There are worse reasons to skip a World Series celebration than getting married to your long-time girlfriend in Italy.
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