Wednesday's ticker-tape parade in N.Y. will be the city's first since the USWNT won the '15 World CupGETTY IMAGES
The World Cup-winning USWNT will be "showered with ticker tape Wednesday in a parade up lower Manhattan's Canyon of Heroes" following their 2-0 victory over the Netherlands, according to Cassady & Jaeger of the N.Y. POST. N.Y. Mayor Bill de Blasio, who has been campaigning for president in South Carolina, will be "back from the campaign trail for the parade, which will follow the traditional route up Broadway from Battery Park to City Hall." It will be the city's "first ticker-tape parade" since the USWNT won the '15 Women's World Cup (N.Y. POST, 7/8). U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has invited the USWNT to the Capitol to celebrate their win, following an invitation given by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) earlier in the tournament (BYERS MARKET, 7/8). President Trump last month said that the USWNT "would be invited to the White House win or lose." However, following the team's win yesterday, he "appeared to walk back his commitment." Trump said, "We haven't really thought about it. We'll look at that" (USA TODAY, 7/8).
G.O.A.T. STATUS: USA TODAY's Nancy Armour writes this USWNT "staked a claim to being the best team in the program's illustrious history" in winning their fourth World Cup title (USA TODAY, 7/8). Fox' Alexi Lalas said this USWNT is one of the "greatest teams in sports history." Lalas: "What they have done, what they continue to do, when everybody's looking, when all the pressure is on them, they still continue to deliver" ("FIFA Women's World Cup Final," Fox, 7/7). In Boston, Bill McIlwrath writes this USWNT "established a standard of excellence that exceeded the American champions" of '91, '99 and '15, becoming a "goal for other U.S. teams and the rest of the world to match" (BOSTON HERALD, 7/8). In N.Y., Rory Smith writes this USWNT is, "without question, the best team in the world." Smith: "It may be, now, the best of all time" (N.Y. TIMES, 7/8). In Boston, Dan Shaughnessy writes watching the USWNT during the tournament was "like watching the Michael Jordan-Larry Bird Dream Team win Olympic gold" (BOSTON GLOBE, 7/8). The GLOBE & MAIL's John Doyle writes for all the "noise about the impudent cockiness of this U.S. team during the tournament, nobody can diminish the players' stature or match their savvy and expertise." They are "better than all the rest" (GLOBE & MAIL, 7/8).
DELIVERED UNDER PRESSURE: USA TODAY's Armour writes it "wasn't just what the Americans did on the field" that was so impressive. The "monumental expectations on them, the relentless criticism of them -- they shouldered it all without a seeming care." They "refused to back down on the issues that mattered to them" (USA TODAY, 7/8). ESPN’s Trey Wingo said, “There was so much pressure on this squad because the expectation wasn't to compete for the championship, it wasn't to make it to the championship. The expectation was to win the damn thing and nothing else would be anything you would consider acceptable” ("Golic & Wingo," ESPN Radio, 7/8). ESPN.com's Sam Borden writes it is "impossible to think of another set of athletes who carry the burden of responsibility" that the USWNT does, as a "group that plays -- every day -- with a social load hanging quite so heavy across their shoulders" (ESPN.com, 7/8). Fox' Lalas said the USWNT is "expected not just to go to a World Cup but to win it each and every time." They "did it in a different way" this year, which "actually makes it that much more impressive" ("FIFA World Cup Today Today," Fox, 7/7). In DC, Sally Jenkins writes power is "taking an epic shot, betting on yourself the way these players did and then coming through" (WASHINGTON POST, 7/8).
ABOUT MORE THAN JUST SOCCER: ESPN's Julie Foudy noted the USWNT "owned everything in an unapologetic, undaunted, undefeated way that I thought was so impressive." Foudy: "They never backed down to anything, they didn't apologize for anything" ("SportsCenter," ESPN, 7/7). In Philadelphia, Marcus Hayes writes the USWNT "represent more than sport." They "represent progress, and -- in this divided and progressively regressive world -- they represent hope" (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 7/8). In Chicago, Heidi Stevens writes under the header, "Thank You, U.S. Women, For That World Cup Win And Everything That Led To It" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 7/8). YAHOO SPORTS' Dan Wetzel wrote the USWNT were "determined to make this World Cup about something bigger than themselves." This "could have been just about grabbing endorsements and promoting brands and them, personally, benefiting in every imaginable way." Instead, they "wanted it to be broader, more important, more lasting" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 7/7). In Louisville, Gentry Estes writes this World Cup "clearly hasn't been just about soccer," and that, actually, "shows just how far" the USWNT and this sport have come in the U.S. (COURIER-JOURNAL.com, 7/8). The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Jason Gay writes there was something "transformatively unapologetic about this USWNT team." Gay: "Like it or not, they declined to play by the old rules." They were "good and they knew it." Their "high-profile players embraced being high profile." They "didn't demur -- on the pitch, or off." Pay equality, not a trophy, "may wind up being the legacy of this team" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 7/8).
