NEW YORK (AP) – Throngs of young girls and other flag-waving fans of the U.S. women’s soccer team filled lower Manhattan Friday morning for a ticker-tape parade celebrating its Women’s World Cup victory.
The parade-goers – many wearing red, white and blue – started gathering at 3:30 a.m. 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 11 a.m., 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 4th floor window on a building near the route was decorated with a homemade sign that reads “Girl Power” with four American flags.
“I’m glad to see girls getting a parade,” said 9-year-old Christinah Delesine, who wore a blue soccer shirt. “There should be more.”
Robert Sanfiz, brought his three children – Julia, 8, Chris, 7 and Tommy, 2 – to take in the spectacle.