Reds news: 2021 Findlay Market Opening Day Parade postponed

A Cincinnati Reds’ tradition has been postposed.

The 2021 Findlay Market Opening Day Parade has been postponed. This will mark the second consecutive year a Cincinnati Reds tradition will be cancelled due to concerns over the coronavirus pandemic. Last year, the parade was cancelled weeks before it was slated to take place.

According to FOX19, the Findlay Market Association announced yesterday that until the Cincinnati Reds are permitted to fill Great American Ball Park to full capacity and all restrictions on group events are lifted, the parade will not be held.

Traditionally, the Reds, baseball’s first professional franchise, was always the first team to begin the baseball season and the organization kicked things off with the Findlay Market Opening Day Parade which was last held prior to the 2019 season.

Last season, a smaller-than-usual caravan drove the ceremonial first pitch via golf cart to Great American Ball Park. The golf cart was escorted by a fire truck and police car along the typical parade route and the baseball was handed off to Rosie Red, one of Cincinnati’s mascots.

Marty Brennaman, the team’s Hall of Fame announcer, was slated to be the Grand Marshal of last year’s parade. Previous Grand Marshals include current MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred and former players Sam LeCure, Danny Graves, Johnny Bench, George Foster, and the late Hall of Famer Joe Morgan.

With the coronavirus pandemic still ever-present in the United States, it’s debatable when stadiums throughout the country will be able to return to full capacity. There’s still no word yet on Major League Baseball’s plans for fans in the stands for the upcoming season, though we did see a limited number fans at Globe Life Field during the NLCS and the World Series.

For now, a Cincinnati Reds tradition will be postponed and the Findlay Market Opening Day Parade is on hold. Hopefully in the near future, we’ll see a return to normal in the city of Cincinnati and around the globe as a whole.