LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Hours before some of the biggest names in sports, politics and entertainment converged to honor Muhammad Ali at a memorial service on Friday, thousands of people lined the streets of his hometown chanting “Ali!” and throwing flowers as a hearse carried his body to a cemetery to be laid to rest.
There were no barriers to keep people off the street, and they swarmed forward, tossing flowers onto the hearse. A gently chaotic decorum prevailed: Riding with the windows down, people in the limousines accompanying the hearse — including members of the Ali family, the actor Will Smith and the mayor, Greg Fischer — slapped hands with the spectators as they passed.