. . . and maybe not at all this year, due to predictions of wind gusts above the speed allowed for flying big ol’ balloons.
I do feel like the balloons get short shrift on TV though. They will take the time to show an up and coming (or down and going) singer or band sing an entire song while standing on a float, but will only show the balloons for a couple of seconds each before jumping to commercial.
I’d love to see the actual Macy’s parade live some year, but the logistics seem like a nightmare (I live in Southern California).
Jglor, I’m not sure balloons are really well served on most televisions: they work best as an in-person attraction.
or 24 million, according to every other source on earth.
I agree with billybob: it just doesn’t seem credible to claim that one in six Americans(*), or roughly 15% of the population will watch the parade on TV, unless you count everyone who sees a snippet of it during the evening news. Seven percent (about one in 13) sounds more believable.
P.S. (*) – I’m sure Macy’s would present more favorable statistics, but my estimate of the international TV audience would be “bupkis” (“nil”).
[Re: “…they work best as an in-person attraction.”]
Unless you’re one of the unlucky few who have been hit by the darned things on a particularly windy day.
jglor – My parents took us to the Macys parade at least once (meaning I only remember going once, but I think we went twice). We are not early risers and the parade was well on by the time we got to it. At that time in Manhattan there were still open air corner parking lots. There was one on the corner we went to and my dad stood my sister and me on someone’s car to help us see – all we saw were the balloons. I decided it was better to watch on TV at home.
Jump forward a couple of decades – my youngest sister (who was held by mom at the parade as she was a baby) lives in Manhattan on the upper west side and the street she lives in is the one where they blow up the balloons the night before the parade and same is open to the public. She would have a party at her apartment that night – my other sister, he husband and children would go, while we worked on cooking Thanksgiving day dinner at our house and looking at the faces they were showing of those watching the balloons being blown up to see if we saw any of them. She then married her husband whose family owns and he runs a men’s wear manufacturing business with Macys. So they would go to the parade – with his young son from his late wife – and sit in the stands near Macys – with celebrities. One year they took mom with them and James Galdofini and his son sat with them. At that point my other BIL was working out here on LI for a company that also had offices along the parade on a low enough floor of the building to watch it- and they would go there to see the parade (and the company laid out a breakfast spread for the employees).
So if you want to see the parade in person – find someone with tickets to the stands or who works for a company along the route – or just go see the balloons blown up the night before as one has to be at the parade sooooo early and the performances one sees on TV may or more likely will not be done where you are.
I’m sure Macy’s counts everybody who catches a millisecond of the parade.
All statistics are self-serving (when they’re not totally bogus).
The only time I saw the parade as a child, I also did so from the comfort of an office. My father knew a guy who knew a guy.
The only other time I went was when I was 19, and my girlfriind and I took her much-younger brother and my two much-younger brothers (who hadn’t yet met her). It was freezing, and we had to park far away, and we were dealing with three cranky kids.
The subject line for this comment should be Why I Haven’t Gone to a Parade Since 1974.
“Unless you’re one of the unlucky few who have been hit by the darned things on a particularly windy day.”
. . . or the debris engendered by a float-away balloon:
(FWIW, every Macy’s Parade is on YouTube; now THERE’s an idea for binge-watching, instead of football, or arguing with your relatives [does that really happen, or is that just a trope?].)
The math is complicated by the fact that some people are only entertained by breakaway balloons. Seeing these majestic creatures held in captivity is heartbreaking…
We actually look into going a couple of years ago. My wife and son have never been to New York. I have for work, and got to wander around Times Square in the evenings, but that’s about it for me.
There were a lot of places offering viewing packages, but they were very expensive, and still didn’t seem very convenient.
I am not an early riser (I’ll do it if I have to), and none of us are fans of standing around in crowds or in the cold for long hours, so it just didn’t make sense.
Still, it seems more fun to me than New Year’s eve in Times Square.
Long ago, my mom took us to Pasadena to see the Rose Parade floats after the parade. I don’t remember if it was later in the day on the 1st, or if it was the next day.
jglor, many things are “more fun than New Year’s Eve in Times Square.” In fact, Dante wrote an entire book about them.
jglor – if one goes to Times Square one has to get there in the afternoon and one is not allowed to the penned in area that they are in – not even to go somewhere and find a toilet to use – if you ever do come, don’t eat or drink a lot earlier in the day.
Comics I Don't Understand 
. . . and maybe not at all this year, due to predictions of wind gusts above the speed allowed for flying big ol’ balloons.
I do feel like the balloons get short shrift on TV though. They will take the time to show an up and coming (or down and going) singer or band sing an entire song while standing on a float, but will only show the balloons for a couple of seconds each before jumping to commercial.
I’d love to see the actual Macy’s parade live some year, but the logistics seem like a nightmare (I live in Southern California).
Jglor, I’m not sure balloons are really well served on most televisions: they work best as an in-person attraction.
or 24 million, according to every other source on earth.
I agree with billybob: it just doesn’t seem credible to claim that one in six Americans(*), or roughly 15% of the population will watch the parade on TV, unless you count everyone who sees a snippet of it during the evening news. Seven percent (about one in 13) sounds more believable.
P.S. (*) – I’m sure Macy’s would present more favorable statistics, but my estimate of the international TV audience would be “bupkis” (“nil”).
[Re: “…they work best as an in-person attraction.”]
Unless you’re one of the unlucky few who have been hit by the darned things on a particularly windy day.
jglor – My parents took us to the Macys parade at least once (meaning I only remember going once, but I think we went twice). We are not early risers and the parade was well on by the time we got to it. At that time in Manhattan there were still open air corner parking lots. There was one on the corner we went to and my dad stood my sister and me on someone’s car to help us see – all we saw were the balloons. I decided it was better to watch on TV at home.
Jump forward a couple of decades – my youngest sister (who was held by mom at the parade as she was a baby) lives in Manhattan on the upper west side and the street she lives in is the one where they blow up the balloons the night before the parade and same is open to the public. She would have a party at her apartment that night – my other sister, he husband and children would go, while we worked on cooking Thanksgiving day dinner at our house and looking at the faces they were showing of those watching the balloons being blown up to see if we saw any of them. She then married her husband whose family owns and he runs a men’s wear manufacturing business with Macys. So they would go to the parade – with his young son from his late wife – and sit in the stands near Macys – with celebrities. One year they took mom with them and James Galdofini and his son sat with them. At that point my other BIL was working out here on LI for a company that also had offices along the parade on a low enough floor of the building to watch it- and they would go there to see the parade (and the company laid out a breakfast spread for the employees).
So if you want to see the parade in person – find someone with tickets to the stands or who works for a company along the route – or just go see the balloons blown up the night before as one has to be at the parade sooooo early and the performances one sees on TV may or more likely will not be done where you are.
I’m sure Macy’s counts everybody who catches a millisecond of the parade.
All statistics are self-serving (when they’re not totally bogus).
The only time I saw the parade as a child, I also did so from the comfort of an office. My father knew a guy who knew a guy.
The only other time I went was when I was 19, and my girlfriind and I took her much-younger brother and my two much-younger brothers (who hadn’t yet met her). It was freezing, and we had to park far away, and we were dealing with three cranky kids.
The subject line for this comment should be Why I Haven’t Gone to a Parade Since 1974.
“Unless you’re one of the unlucky few who have been hit by the darned things on a particularly windy day.”
. . . or the debris engendered by a float-away balloon:
(FWIW, every Macy’s Parade is on YouTube; now THERE’s an idea for binge-watching, instead of football, or arguing with your relatives [does that really happen, or is that just a trope?].)
The math is complicated by the fact that some people are only entertained by breakaway balloons. Seeing these majestic creatures held in captivity is heartbreaking…
We actually look into going a couple of years ago. My wife and son have never been to New York. I have for work, and got to wander around Times Square in the evenings, but that’s about it for me.
There were a lot of places offering viewing packages, but they were very expensive, and still didn’t seem very convenient.
I am not an early riser (I’ll do it if I have to), and none of us are fans of standing around in crowds or in the cold for long hours, so it just didn’t make sense.
Still, it seems more fun to me than New Year’s eve in Times Square.
Long ago, my mom took us to Pasadena to see the Rose Parade floats after the parade. I don’t remember if it was later in the day on the 1st, or if it was the next day.
jglor, many things are “more fun than New Year’s Eve in Times Square.” In fact, Dante wrote an entire book about them.
jglor – if one goes to Times Square one has to get there in the afternoon and one is not allowed to the penned in area that they are in – not even to go somewhere and find a toilet to use – if you ever do come, don’t eat or drink a lot earlier in the day.