The US women’s soccer team got a hero’s welcome on Friday with a ticker-tape parade in New York’s lower Manhattan, mobbed by young girls and other flag-waving fans, followed by a New York City Hall ceremony where each player was given a key to the city.
“All of this for us started when we were little and we had a dream,” star forward Abby Wambach told a crowd of 3,500 at City Hall Plaza. “In my opinion, all the women up on this stage believed in that dream, kept believing in that dream.”
Head coach Jill Ellis called the celebration “mind-blowing,” while midfielder Carli Lloyd — named the Women’s World Cup’s Most Valuable Player after scoring three goals in the final — said: “Well I’m a Jersey girl ... but New York City, you guys are awesome.”
Photo: EPA
Supporters — many wearing red, white and blue — started gathering at 3:30am along the Canyon of Heroes, a stretch of Broadway where the nation’s largest city has honored its legends. When the parade got underway at 11am, the crowd was as much as 10 deep along the route. Chants of “USA, USA” were distinctly high-pitched.
It was the first-ever ticker-tape parade in New York for a women’s sports team — a fact not lost on the crowd. A fourth-floor window on a building near the route was decorated with a homemade sign reading “Girl Power,” with four US flags.
“I’m glad to see girls getting a parade,” said nine-year-old Christinah Delesine, who wore a blue soccer shirt. “There should be more.”
All 23 squad members — none of whom are from New York City, though four hail from nearby New Jersey — were riding on four of 12 floats. One of the floats was carrying the World Cup trophy, along Lloyd and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo was on a separate float.
The players could be seen taking selfies and shooting photographs of the crowd.
As the parade started, goalkeeper Hope Solo tweeted: “We couldn’t be more excited be here!” with an image of herself and five teammates.
The southern end of Broadway is the traditional spot in New York for the parades where workers in tall office buildings once tossed ticker tape onto celebrants below. The tape has been replaced by shredded paper.
The New York Yankees have been given parades after winning the MLB World Series, and the New York Giants have been celebrated after winning the Super Bowl, most recently in 2012.
Famous people honored with parades in New York include Theodore Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Dwight Eisenhower, General Douglas MacArthur and Albert Einstein.
Even though the women’s soccer team is a national team and not a local team, the push to honor the players with a parade had been fervent. Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer had written to De Blasio, saying it was a good opportunity to showcase female athletes.
“When they brought back that trophy, they also brought back the message of the power of women,” De Blasio said at City Hall.
The US returned to the top of the FIFA women’s rankings after thrashing Japan 5-2 in the World Cup final to collect the top prize in women’s soccer for the first time in 16 years.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care