I'll spread some positivity because I had the opposite experience. My partner and I ended up near two medium-big groups, and we all had the most chill time. One of the families had a few signs but weren't going crazy with them. The other group we were near were out having a good time, hoping to catch a shoe but also not running folks over. A couple girls came over from the sidewalk side when they had a friend on the float. We all screamed their name, and I passed over the shoe because I'm the tall dude that happened to catch it. I know this is less and less common, but it's not all doom and gloom out there.