'Last Comic Standing' champ gets hero's welcome
Erika Gonzalez, Rocky Mountain News
Published August 22, 2006 at midnight
Monday's parade honoring comedian Josh Blue might have been several hundred thousand people short of a Denver Broncos victory rally, but it still left the stand-up savoring the day like a sports star.
"I feel like I just won the Super Bowl," said Blue, the victor Aug. 9 on NBC's Last Comic Standing, thanks to a series of routines based on his often humorous experiences living with cerebral palsy.
"I don't know of any other comedian who got a parade," he said.
Wearing a crown made of leaves and colorful African attire, Blue rode atop a firetruck in a parade that had to wend its way down Larimer Square twice to extend past the five-minute mark.
The celebration thrown by Comedy Works included Colorado Rapids cheerleaders and mascot RapidMan, go-karts and U.S. Paralympic athletes. (In his spare time, Blue plays for the U.S. Paralympic soccer team.)
The event drew about 150 spectators, many of whom sported cardboard masks of the comic's increasingly famous face.
"Josh is awesome," declared Kati Bohall, a staffer at the Denver office of the Sports Center for the Disabled, which has a soccer league for kids with cerebral palsy.
Nine-year-old Emily Gamel and her 7-year-old sister, Sarah, were equally excited to see Blue, who they became familiar with through the show. "We only let them watch Josh," explained the girls' mother, Susan Gamel.
After the parade, Blue and Mayor John Hickenlooper christened the Comedy Works' new elevator, designed to make the club more handicapped-accessible. The mayor also declared the day "Blue Monday."
"No city could have a better representative than Josh Blue," said Hickenlooper.
Although Hickenlooper said he watched Last Comic Standing, he never voted in the competition, which is decided by viewers. "If he would have lost I would have felt so guilty," the mayor confessed.
Later Monday, the Denver City Council issued a proclamation honoring Blue, to which he responded: "This city rocks."
Blue is deluged with autograph requests everywhere he performs.
"Which is cool," he said. "But it takes me forever to do."
The comic plans to remain based in Denver and hopes to start shopping for a home soon.
And to all those who cheered him on, Blue had a special message:
"Your support cripples me."
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