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NYC Fetes 2019 Women's World Cup Champions With Epic Victory Parade

The parade began at 9:30 a.m. ET and is moving along the Canyon of Heroes, a section of Broadway between the Battery and City Hall

What to Know

  • Thousands of fans flooded NYC Wednesday to watch the festivities as the U.S. women's soccer team is honored for another World Cup victory
  • The party starts at 9:30 a.m. and travels along the Canyon of Heroes, a section of Broadway between the Battery and City Hall
  • The 2015 parade for the U.S. women marked the first time a women's professional team received the coveted ticker-tape honor

Thousands of super fans from across the country descended on the Canyon of Heroes, where the U.S. women's national soccer team was feted for the second time with a confetti parade through the heart of New York City. 

Revelers were seen lining Broadway, between the Battery and City Hall, in the pre-dawn hours, well ahead of Wednesday's 9:30 a.m. parade start. Just before the grand kickoff, the U.S. players hugged each other as they got on their colorful float, Megan Rapinoe sipping from a glass of champagne with a smile. 

Star USWNT player Megan Rapinoe sips champagne and lifts up the World Cup trophy at Wednesday’s ticker tape parade.

Later, cheers erupted and flags waved en masse as the world champions launched into their victory parade, taking plenty of selfies along the way and vaulting at least one bottle of champagne into the crowd. Rapinoe, the squad's co-captain, struck her now-famous victory pose as goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher held the World Cup trophy aloft for all to see. People were seen flinging huge amounts of shredded paper from buildings as golden confetti rained down on the parade route, showering the champs and spectators alike.

Chants of "USA! USA! USA!" were drowned out only by the U.S. women's cries for "Equal pay! Equal pay! Equal pay!"

[NATL] Pictures from the US Women's World Cup Victory Parade

The festivities come four years to the day that crowds tossed heaps of confetti in the city to celebrate the team and its 2015 Women's World Cup title. This year, fans were clamoring to get a glimpse of the 2019 women's world cup heroes including Alex Morgan, Rose Lavelle, Carli Lloyd, Tobin Heath, Ali Krieger, Kelly O'Hara, Ashlyn Harris and Jill Ellis. 

Here’s a look at the parade route as seen from the air.

The repeat champs beat the Netherlands 2-0 on Sunday to win this year's Women's World Cup -- and New York City, which bestowed the first-ever ticker-tape parade on a women's team four years ago, recognized them in epic fashion once again. 

The party then moved to City Hall, where Mayor de Blasio honored the team with symbolic keys to the city. All tickets for the City Hall ceremony were issued within 30 seconds after the free passes became available Monday.

US Women’s National Team defender and Long Island native Crystal Dunn takes a mic from News 4’s Kat Creag to demand the women’s and men’s teams are paid equally. 

The team started celebrating its record fourth Women's World Cup title the moment it landed at Newark Liberty International Airport Monday. Players shared a champagne toast and sang "We Are the Champions."

Two of the 23 players are native New Yorkers. Allie Long, a midfielder from Northport, posted on Twitter about returning to her home state.

"NEW YORK: To be back home to celebrate with you all will be an honor," she wrote.

Who doesn’t like to have fun with shredded paper? A bunch of kids appeared to be having the time of their lives at the ticker-tape parade celebrating the fourth World Cup win for the U.S. women’s soccer team.

The players have helped lead the global push for gender equality in the workplace, suing the U.S. Soccer Federation in March for gender discrimination and alleging they are paid less than the men's team. At the final whistle of the final game of the tournament in Lyon, France, fans chanted "Equal Pay!"

It was quite the scene along the Canyon of Heroes Wednesday. See some of the raw footage here.

On Wednesday, at the parade, Gov. Cuomo signed into law a bill that expands equal pay laws for all substantially similar work in New York state, saying, "There is no rationale why women should not get paid what men get paid. These are women's soccer players, they play the same game as the men's soccer players, and they play it better -- so if there is any economic rationale, the men should get paid less than the women."

A day earlier, U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, a Democrat, introduced a bill that would bar federal funding for the men's 2026 World Cup until the U.S. Soccer Federation provides equal pay to the women's and men's teams.

Rapinoe accepted an invitation for the team to visit Congress, but has said she won't celebrate at the White House even if invited by President Donald Trump.

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Copyright AP - Associated Press
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