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A sea of seafoam: NY Liberty fans thrilled as thousands march up Broadway for championship parade
By
Brittany Kriegstein
,
Hannah Frishberg
and
Louis C. Hochman
Published Oct 24, 2024
Modified Oct 24, 2024
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Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
By
Brittany Kriegstein
,
Hannah Frishberg
and
Louis C. Hochman
Published Oct 24, 2024
Modified Oct 24, 2024
Share
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Battery Park and Broadway were a sea of seafoam green Thursday morning
Participants, proud New Yorkers and thousands of other people lined up for the city’s ticker tape parade to honor the New York Liberty's first-ever WNBA championship.
Marchers stepped off from Battery Park shortly at 10 a.m. and headed up Broadway's “Canyon of Heroes” on their way to a ceremony at City Hall, where both Mayor Eric Adams and Gov. Kathy Hochul were expected to speak. At one point, the Liberty’s Breanna Stewart jumped off a parade float to wade into the roaring crowd of fans.
“Oh man. I slapped on her hand,” said Kelli Girard, 64, who’s been following the Liberty since the team's inception. “She gave me a high-five. Oh, beautiful. Awesome.”
Another fan, AD Davis, described the championship and parade as an “out-of-body experience.”
Drew Bruno became a fan of the Liberty during the pandemic. Now he’s hooked.
“It was a beautiful thing to see. We got to see all of our girls. They put on a great season for us this year,” he said. “Can’t wait to be there for game one next year.”
Maximus Leader, 9, didn’t hesitate to name his favorite player: Sabrina Ionescu, who, like Taylor, also won an Olympic gold medal this year. “We finally won it!” Maximus said as the parade began.
Mel Dreyer, 37, described herself as a new but enthusiastic fan: “It's important that we support women's sports always every day, morning till noon till evening,”
Rider Rieckoff, 9, was attending the parade with his dad, PJ Rieckoff. What does he think is so great about the Liberty?
“I think they’re just like a really good team and I just really like watching them play,” Rider said.
Fans line the streets during the New York Liberty Ticker Tape Victory Parade & Rally.
Rob Kim/Getty Images)
His dad jumped in: “And Ellie the Elephant. Ellie the Elephant is the greatest mascot in the universe.”
PJ Rieckoff said he was particularly excited because there hasn’t been a New York City parade to honor a basketball team in his lifetime. He’s hoping for more parades after the upcoming World Series between the Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers, and hopes to see the Knicks in next June's NBA finals.
“New York is back,” he said.
The Liberty's Stewart and her teammate Jonquel Jones — the WNBA Finals' most valuable player — were some of the first to arrive, signing autographs for young fans along the way. Also on site early were the “Timeless Torches” — the Liberty's senior dance team — practicing the “we are the champions” chant they used to rile up crowds along the route.
Many spectators said they were excited for the championship, the heightened interest in the WNBA, and the way the Liberty's players have become role models for young girls.
But Gail Marquis, a former Women's Professional Basketball League player and 1976 Olympian, said she had “all the praise” for the New York Liberty — but remembered a time when women’s basketball didn’t excite the public as much as this week’s championship win.
The former New York Stars and New Jersey Gems player called into WNYC’s "Brian Lehrer Show" from the parade Thursday to remind listeners of the Stars’ 1979-80 league championship.
“Unfortunately, women's basketball wasn't as popular, and women in sports wasn't as popular,” she told Lehrer.
The Women's Professional Basketball League folded after just three seasons.
“At least we gave them a spark, and people realized there was a place for women, and women's basketball,” Marquis said.
Spectators line up for the ticker-tape parade to honor the Liberty along NYC's "Canyon of Heroes."
Photo by Brittany Kriegstein / Gothamist
NY Liberty owner Clara Wu Tsai, who bought the team with husband Joe Tsai in 2019, told Gothamist just before the parade that she felt “so grateful to be able to bring this to the city.”
“Knowing that all of this is built on the foundation of so many people who came before us, especially the Liberty legends, and to see them here … it's really moving,” Wu Tsai said. “And the loyal fans, too. So many of them are here that are from the early days. That's heartwarming as well.”
The Torches in particular, she said, “come with such love and that's what this organization is.”
“It's really an organization full of love,” she said.
New York Liberty fans cheer during the Championship ticker tape parade. The parade was set to be followed by a ceremony at City Hall.
Elsa/Getty Images
There was a significant police presence around the area. Several roads were closed and adjustments were made to mass transit.
Thursday's celebration has been nearly 30 years in the making. The Liberty secured their first championship win in the team’s three-decade history on Sunday night.
It was the city's first ticker tape parade since 2021's celebration of health care and essential workers in the COVID-19 pandemic, and continues a tradition that dates back to when the city welcomed home victorious soldiers with pomp and fanfare after World War I, according to the Downtown Alliance. Ticker tape parades have honored visiting heads of state, military personnel and veterans, Amelia Earhart, Mets and Yankees championship teams, and even American hostages returned from Iran.
The NY Liberty senior dance team, the Timeless Torches, on a float on Battery Place getting ready to start NYC's ticker tape parade honoring the WNBA championship team.
Brittany Kriegstein / Gothamist
"For so many fans, watching and following the New York Liberty has long served as a place of community-building and inspiration," Councilmember Crystal Hudson wrote in an announcement of a resolution to declare Oct. 20 — the anniversary of the Liberty's championship-clinching game five win — New York Liberty Day. The City Council adopted the resolution Wednesday.
Hudson said the team is one made of up of athletes "who use their platform to remind us that the fight for equality and justice, while never truly complete, can also be fun to watch, and can yield victories of which we can all be proud."
"And let’s not forget," she wrote, "that when we invest in women, we win."
This post has been updated with further coverage of the New York Liberty parade and festivities.
A New York Liberty fan reacts during the Championship ticker tape parade and victory rally Thursday.
Elsa/Getty Images
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Brittany Kriegstein
Brittany Kriegstein covers all breaking news around New York City, with a focus on crime and gun violence. Got a tip? Email Brittany at [email protected].
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Hannah Frishberg
Hannah Frishberg covers New York City arts and culture. Got a tip? Email Hannah at [email protected].
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Louis C. Hochman
After about two decades in (mostly) New Jersey-focused commercial print, digital and digital-but-radio-adjacent news, Lou stumbled into member-supported news in early 2021, as the editor and CEO of Montclair Local. There, he (hopes he) expanded enterprise, brought more sophistication to digital storytelling and moved the nonprofit newsroom closer to long-term financial sustainability. He helped lead the Local to its fourth consecutive General Excellence award from the New Jersey Press Association — the NJPA's highest honor with judges noting the paper's work to strip away layers of government opacity, to hold power to account, to make news accessible for more members of the community, to share the stories and concerns of more facets of the community and to tell compelling stories across multiple media. He's excited to continue the same ethic — news as a public service — at NYPR as the New Jersey and suburbs editor, drawing on the extraordinary talents of reporters including Karen Yi and Nancy Solomon. Lou lives in Philly (that commute!) with his partner and their two cats, about whom and about which he speaks incessantly.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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