WWE Superstar CM Punk will be an "Honored Guest" at the "McDonald's Thanksgiving Parade" on Thanksgiving morning (Nov. 22) in his hometown of Chicago, IL. More from Chicagofestivals.org:

WWE Champion and Chicago-native CM Punk will make his second appearance in the McDonald's Thanksgiving Parade. Barring any major upset, he will have held the WWE Championship Belt for over a calendar year when travelling down the parade route.

First off, let me just say, I love how the organizers are keeping kayfabe. "Barring any major upset" is just an awesome way to phrase "if Vince McMahon decides to rip the title off of him."

Second, I'm always a fan of WWE Superstars doing things such as this. Yes, Punk is still a "bad guy" in terms of the show. He's the WWE Champion, though, and this type of exposure is good for business. Over 3.5 million people tuned in to watch the parade last year. More people seeing the blinged-out belt could lead to more people watching Monday Night Raw.

Just as its a good thing for The Miz to star in the ABC original movie Christmas Bounty, it is good to see Punk make a public appearance such as this. In this day and age, heels should not be forced into hiding just because of the characters they play on television.

On the other hand, having Punk get booed while he travels down the streets of Chicago, would be quite the spectacle.

Joining Punk, as other honorary guests, include:

• Ronald McDonald -- one of the benefits of having your name on the entire thing
• The Harlem Globetrotters -- did you know all the original members were from the South Side of Chicago? And chose their home as "Harlem" merely to add to the groups mystique?
• Miss Illinois, Megan Ervin -- not an unattractive woman by any standard
• Miss Chicago, Marisa Buchheit -- also not unattractive whatsoever
• Jaslene Gonzalez -- Cycle 8 winner of America's Next Top Model, and also, you guessed it, not entirely unattractive
• Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus -- kayfabe lives all over this parade!