Somewhere between true American block-party anthems like the Notorious B.I.G.’s “Hypnotize” and multiple Pitbull numbers, the DJ at today’s downtown Manhattan ticker-tape parade for USWNT slipped on another classic. To the classic, tinny opening strains of Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A.,” she issued a call to action to the crowd gathered in City Hall plaza: “Clap if you were born in the U.S.A.!”
Unsurprisingly, only about half clapped – it’s a city (and country) made up of immigrants, after all. And the moment only served to underscore the diverse mix among the throngs who showed up to fete the women’s world soccer champions.
At City Hall Plaza, the ending point of the route, performances ranged from show tunes to northern Brazilian batala drumming. In a post-parade speech, New York City mayor Bill De Blasio even slipped into accented, but grammatically flawless Spanish. “Estamos orgullosos!” He exclaimed. We are proud!
Street vendors sold mostly American flags, with a few more thrown in for good measure. / Photo by Arielle Castillo
But throughout the crowd stretching along the city’s “Canyon of Heroes” – stretching along Broadway from Battery Park to City Hall – people-watchers could delight in all types of wild and colorful fauna. There were suburban soccer families; grown-up, hardcore supporters’ club members in scarves; grandparents waving flags; basically anyone able to shirk work for an enthusiastic – and historic – party in the city.
This group of girls came to the parade from Princeton, New Jersey. / Photo by Arielle Castillo
This street performer offered a pretty chilled out, but still killer, version of the Eagles' "Take It Easy." / Photo by Arielle Castillo
The parade marked a number of firsts, of course: the first ticker tape parade in New York since 2012, the first ever for a woman’s sports team. So could all of that mean, as trend pieces have pointed out, that mainstream America is finally ready for soccer – and women’s soccer specifically -- to be A Thing for the average consumer?
About two hours before the parade, spectators' spots on public sidewalks were already jammed. / Photo by Arielle Castillo
People proudly sported gear for all kinds of North American soccer players and teams. / Photo by Arielle Castillo
Most of the parade attendees sure hoped so, and it was hard to not get swept away in the overall crowd euphoria.
Friends Will Camerlingo and Kristen Bartiss also skipped work and traveled from New Jersey for the parade. / Photo by Arielle Castillo
“No one really takes women’s soccer seriously, but now it’s on ESPN, ABC, on every single news channel,” said Kristen Bartiss, an athletic trainer for Jersey Express S.C. “This is a statement. This will take women’s soccer and athletics to the next level. Maybe we’ll get more funding and TV time.”
Red Bulls season ticket-holder Matthew Foley had to head back to work after the parade and ceremony. / Photo by Arielle Castillo
Matthew Foley, who said he helped run the New York City chapter of the American Outlaws supporters club, said he just started a new job at the Newark Museum this week – but had to skip the morning to mark history. “They know I’m a fanatic, so I had to tell my new boss I would go back afterwards,” he said, waving an A.O. supporters’ scarf. He saw the turnout as a good omen for soccer in the U.S. mainstream. “There’s always a bump in interest [after a tournament], but now it’s just seeing a steady incline. [Fans] just keep coming back.”
Women and young girls represented hard in the throngs. / Photo by Arielle Castillo
For elementary-school-age athletes, the entire affair opened up an entirely new set of future possibilities. A group of soccer players from a Police Athletic League summer camp came from the Bronx, outfitted in matching campers’ T-shirts and draping themselves in American flags.
Karla Ortiz (in the flag) came with fellow female athletes from a Police Athletic League summer camp in the Bronx. / Photo by Arielle Castillo
“I was cheering and it was awesome,” recalled 12-year-old Karla Ortiz, a budding goalie, of the USWNT win. “I felt proud of my country.”
Her friend, 11-year-old Lisbeth Lora, saw the proceedings through a slightly more gendered lens. “It makes us more powerful than men,” she said, “because we actually won a World Cup.” Oooh – hear those words, USMNT?
Fans of both the team and specific players professed love with handmade signs. / Photo by Arielle Castillo
So will today’s energy keep cresting for women’s athletics, and for North American soccer? With every spontaneous crowd chant of “I Believe We Will Win,” players’ names, or the good ol’ “U-S-A, U-S-A,” it was easy to feel optimistic about the power of the sport to unite a vast patchwork of humanity.
Ticker tape everywhere! / Photos by Arielle Castillo
