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LeBron James grannies board bus and show off their pride at championship parade and rally

Posted at 9:15 AM, Jun 23, 2016
and last updated 2016-06-23 09:16:25-04

Decked out in wine and gold hats, scarves and jerseys, more than 20 seniors from the LeBron James Grandmother's Fan Club boarded a bus in Akron to celebrate their "adopted grandson" at the Cavs championship parade and rally in Cleveland.

One of the ladies took her dedication a step further by getting an NBA trophy and Cavs logo tattooed on her arm.

The entire day was very exciting for Alder Chapman. She founded the club 10 years ago and was moved to tears when asked about her hometown hero bringing home a title to Northeast Ohio.

"I told you that he was coming back home and he's home," Chapman said.

The bus trip took a couple of hours because of the estimated1.3 million fans who packed downtown, but the spirited grannies were not deterred.

They chanted, "Let's go Cavs" and "Grannies rise up for LBJ" as the bused motored up I-77 North.

"We're young in spirit. We may be gray-headed, but we're still young in spirit," said Dolores Golson.

As their chartered bus neared downtown, the grandmothers caught a break when a Cleveland police officer allowed the driver to exit at a ramp that was closed.

That put their bus squarely on the parade route more than an hour before it started, delighting the growing crowd in the streets.

The ladies responded to exuberant cheering and clapping by dancing and chanting for the Cavs fans.

The spunky seniors gathered in Mall C to watch the parade on a giant monitor, standing and cheering as LeBron waved to the crowd.

Anita Wilkins said the group is proud of LeBron win or lose, but she admitted this kind of celebration was in her prayers.

"World champions. We are excited. We are glad. We are happy. We are so joyful," Wilkins said.