They may not be visiting President Donald Trump at the White House, but the United States women’s soccer team is being honored with a ticker tape parade in New York’s famed ‘Canyon of Heroes’ on Wednesday morning.
‘Time to celebrate with everyone who cheered us on all month!!!’ U.S. forward Alex Morgan tweeted hours before the parade was set to begin at 9:30am local time.
On Monday, the team returned home from France, 24 hours after defeating the Netherlands 2-0 in Sunday’s final to clinch a record-extending fourth World Cup crown.
Now, after two days of the team’s celebratory media tour, tens of thousands of fans are expected to pack the Lower Manhattan section of Broadway, where everyone from sports heroes to U.S. astronauts have been celebrated.
Just four years earlier, roaring fans lined the same route to cheer on the U.S. women’s soccer team after its 2015 2015 World Cup win.
An open-top bus will transport the team along the route, which runs from Battery Park up Broadway before finally arriving at City Hall for a ceremony hosted by New York Mayor Bill de Blasio.
Wednesday’s ticker-tape fiesta is just the first stop on a protracted victory lap that will send the team across the United States in the coming months.
After the New York celebration, the players will jet off to California to appear at the ESPYS, the US sports world’s equivalent of the Oscars, taking place in Los Angeles later on Wednesday.
The team will then be back on the road next month to play in a five-game series of friendly international matches billed as a ‘Victory Tour,’ starting with a clash against Ireland at the Pasadena Rose Bowl on August 3.
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Fans wave American flags before the Women’s World Cup championship parade
Soccer fans pack the streets of Lower Manhattan to honor the U.S. women’s soccer team – the 2019 World Cup champions
The parade will start at 9:30am from Battery Park and head north along Broadway to City Hall, according to the Mayor’s office. The Mayor will also honor the team at City Hall
A man emerges from a delicatessen displaying a spray-painted sign honoring the four-time World Cup-winning U.S. women’s soccer team, one day ahead of a ticker-tape parade and City Hall ceremony for them. The deli was given a ‘Grade Pending’ evaluation from the New York City Department of Health
Team captain made a champagne toast to her fellow players ahead of the U.S. women’s soccer team parade in New York
Workers unfurl a flag as they prepare New York City Hall for the ticker tape parade honoring the U.S. women’s soccer team
While the team is feted across the country, the squad has also been held up as champions of gender equality.
The team is suing the United States Soccer Federation to demand equal pay with their male counterparts, and fan chants of ‘equal pay’ cascaded from the stands at the Stade de Lyon after Sunday’s victory.
The outspoken captain Megan Rapinoe has been unafraid to criticize President Donald Trump, saying last month that she would not accept an invitation from him to visit the White House if the U.S. won the World Cup.
Trump responded by tweeting that Rapinoe should ‘win first before she talks.’
Speaking to ESPN on Tuesday, Rapinoe noted she had ‘held up my end of the bargain on that one’ before adding that the Twitter exchange with Trump had actually helped the team in France.
She also reiterated that she would not be going to the White House, saying on CNN’s ‘Anderson Cooper 360’ that: ‘I would not go and every teammate that I’ve talked to explicitly about it would not go.’
‘I don’t think anyone on the team has any interest in lending the platform that we’ve worked so hard to build and the things that we fight for and the way that we live our life, I don’t think we want that to be co-opted or corrupted by this administration.’
In a Twitter tirade directed at Rapinoe, Trump had initially invited the team to the White House ‘win or lose,’ but seems to be walking that offer back now.
When asked about a potential meeting on Sunday, Trump replied: ‘We haven’t really thought about it. We’ll look at that.’
Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (NY) took to the Senate floor on Monday and invited the women’s team to the upper chamber.
‘That’s great,’ Rapinoe told reporters in response. ‘I love that. Interested to see what McConnell does. Thank you, Chuck Schumer, for inviting us out. We are very happy to accept your invitation to come.’
Schumer used the opportunity to call for closing the gender pay gap. He also called on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to allow a vote on the floor.
‘While today we celebrate their victory, we also recognize that these women, these athletes, have challenges and they make us really think about the future of women’s sports,’ Schumer said on Monday.
Fans jockey for position along the parade route while New Yorkers go about their daily routine in Lower Manhattan
Mallory Pugh posted an Instagram video before Wednesday’s parade while teammate Samantha Mewis played piano
New York City police officers on patrol before the Women’s World Cup championship parade
Workers prepare City Hall, decorated with banners in preparation for a ceremony with Mayor Bill de Blasio and other dignitaries scheduled to follow Wednesday’s parade for the four-time World Cup winning U.S. Women’s soccer team
The last ticker tape parade was held in 2015 after the U.S. women’ national team defeated Japan, 5-2, to win the World Cup
After a hard-fought World Cup campaign, complete with drama on the pitch as well as a swell of controversies off of it, the American players took time to cool off atop an exclusive NYC rooftop pool and bar ahead of their parade in the city on Wednesday.
Morgan shared a snap of her and teammate Kelley O-Hara floating on matching Inflatable donuts at the James Hotel on Tuesday afternoon, with the pair clutching cocktails as they laughed towards one another.
The tournament’s Golden Ball winner and co-winner of the Golden Boot trophy, Rapinoe, was videoed dancing poolside along with Ashlyn Harris and Crystal Dunn, with a clear view of the One World Trade Center providing a stunning back-drop.
Morgan said that during the flight back home, the team was able to bond thanks to lack of Wifi internet access.
‘Initially everyone was excited and then a little hungover and then we slept a little bit. Then we got up and started celebrating a little more and sharing memories,’ she said.
‘This starts an amazing three days and we need to just release all that emotional, physical exhaustion that we’ve had over the past 30 days … now we just get to enjoy each other’s company.’
Vice-captain Alex Morgan shared a snap of her and teammate Kelley O-Hara floating on matching Inflatable donuts at the James Hotel on Tuesday afternoon
The tournament’s Golden Ball winner and co-winner of the Golden Boot trophy, Megan Rapinoe, was videoed dancing poolside along with Ashlyn Harris
Morgan sips a cocktail as she floats on the water at the exclusive NYC rooftop pool and bar
Morgan poses in front of the $100 million yacht owned by billionaire Rick Caruso
‘This will be epic’: Ali Kreger snaps an video of the incredible boat, which embarked on a tour around Manhattan
A file photo above shows Caruso’s vessel in all its glory – ‘Invictus’ is a 216ft mega yacht
They declared soccer a ‘female-dominated sport’ and said they would continue to keep fighting to be paid equally to their male counterparts
All Smiles: The World Cup-winning squad poses with the trophy and the hosts of GMA
They then headed out to a Noho spa to pamper their battle-scarred feet with pedicures and massages, before freshening up their looks with facial treatments
The champions enjoyed a hero’s welcome on Monday morning when they arrive at Newark airport