The USWNT victory party continued apace on Wednesday morning with the team embarking on a parade through New York City before settling down for a ceremony in front of city hall, which included a powerful speech from Golden Boot and Golden Ball winner Megan Rapinoe and a not-so-incredible talk from USSF president Carlos Cordeiro.
Despite the event taking place early on a Wednesday — the USWNT is now jetting off to Los Angeles for the ESPY awards — a strong crowd still turned out to welcome their heroes back home.
what a magical day. let’s keep doing this forever. pic.twitter.com/oBmhEEeeVm
— U.S. Soccer WNT (@USWNT) July 10, 2019
.@alexmorgan13, look at what you've done #USWNTParade pic.twitter.com/3vmF3GMJeB
— Planet Fútbol (@si_soccer) July 10, 2019
So that looked fun.
Get a float-side view of the @USWNT’s ticker tape parade, courtesy of the world champs. pic.twitter.com/DFC6rW17Kd— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 10, 2019
The players were then introduced and individually celebrated at city hall. The final player to make an entrance was Rapinoe, the clear star of the show.
.@mPinoe knows how to make an entrance! pic.twitter.com/VFqsG249J7
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 10, 2019
When she stepped up to the mic to deliver her thank yous, she also delivered an inspiring message regarding both her team and our nation.
"This is my charge to everyone. We have to be better. We have to love more, hate less. We've got to listen more and talk less. We've got to know that this is everybody's responsibility."
What. A. Speech. @mPinoe pic.twitter.com/eOPEJTsjLa— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 10, 2019
Megan Rapinoe: “Just shoutout to the teammates… We’re chillin’. We’ve got tea sippin’. We’ve got celebrations. We have pink hair and purple hair. We have tattoos and dreadlocks. We’ve got white girls and black girls, and everything in between. Straight girls and gay girls. Hey!” pic.twitter.com/2b0EhQvmlm
— CNN (@CNN) July 10, 2019
Cordeiro’s moment in the spotlight didn’t go as well. He was initially greeted with chants of “equal pay.”
WATCH: The crowd chants "equal pay" as U.S. Soccer Federation President Carlos Cordeiro takes the stage https://t.co/bD6LgDSbQa pic.twitter.com/qtZYcUC4tS
— CBS News (@CBSNews) July 10, 2019
He then mispronounced Rapinoe’s name.
AWKWARD: U.S. Soccer President Carlos Cordeiro mispronounced Megan Rapinoe's name while honoring her during the ticker-tape parade ceremony https://t.co/T7PgvuNpqj #USWNT #ParadeofChampions #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/7C0lgVbLl3
— Eyewitness News (@ABC7NY) July 10, 2019
And he skirted around saying anything substantial, which led to some grumbles from the crowd.
"We hear you. We believe in you. And we're committed to doing right by you."
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 10, 2019
Regardless, the players are still going strong.
The USWNT drinking for three days straight and gaining strength along the way is jaw-dropping athleticism
— Brian Floyd (@BrianMFloyd) July 10, 2019