Recently on Wednesday, July 10, the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team celebrated their most recent World Cup win with a festive parade through the heart of Manhattan. This is the second time that the women’s soccer team has been able to experience this honor, the first being after their 2015 World Cup win.
But this celebration was much more than just a parade, it was also a celebration of the journey the team took, and their diverse backgrounds. As the team co-captain Megan Rapinoe put it, “We have pink hair and purple hair, straight girls and gay girls.”
Once the procession reached city hall, they were met by the mayor of New York, Bill de Blasio, who greeted them with the keys to the city. De Blasio also congratulated the team’s achievements, including several statistics -first to win twelve World Cup matches in a row, etc.- in addition to their most recent World Cup tournament win.
Later in the celebration, the crowd began to chant “Equal pay, equal pay, equal pay…” This was likely due to the fact that the U.S. Women’s national soccer team had filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation in March because the women were being paid less than the men. Furthermore, Rapinoe added on, “We have to be better. We have to love more, hate less. We got to listen more and talk less. We got to know that this is everybody’s responsibility – every single person here.”
