The New York Liberty kicked off a cross-borough championship celebration tour on Thursday, with fans turning out in droves at each stop to celebrate the franchise’s first WNBA title.
The day began with a ticker tape parade down the Canyon of Heroes on Broadway in lower Manhattan, followed by a rally at City Hall.
It was the first-ever ticker tape championship parade for a women's sports team in New York, which made it feel special as floats full of players, their families and Liberty staff cruised down Broadway, showered by confetti as they hoisted the WNBA trophy.
As part of the City Hall Ceremony, the mayor awarded a Key to the City to team members.
“Keys to the City are reserved for those who know how to bring home the trophy — true champions — like the New York Liberty,” said Adams. “Every step of the way, the New York Liberty made our city proud, from making franchise history to securing the best record in the league, to inspiring all New Yorkers that our city is full of champions."
The daytime celebrations were family-friendly fun, as kids of all stripes were jubilantly in attendance, taking a day off from school.
"To go to the games and see these women leave it all on the floor — the energy, the drive, the ambition they had — they're an inspiration to all of us. And not just the thousands of little girls who now can see themselves as possibly rising up to this great position or knowing that there's nothing they can't do because the women have won, and they'll continue to win under this great leadership. I'm so proud of them as the first woman governor of New York," said Governor Kathy Hochul.
The celebration then resumed in Brooklyn in the evening and the vibes and energy turned up to ten. A giant crowd waited patiently in the plaza in front of Barclays Center as T-shirt vendors hawked their wares as if it was New Year’s Eve.
In the crowd was Kim, who declined to give her last name, who said she's a big fan of Betnijah Laney-Hamilton and Sabrina Ionescu. She's been a fan of the team since she moved to the borough three years ago.
The music in the plaza pumped as the MC cajoled the crowd to light their torches (cellphones) as the staff worked to get the fans in the front door.
Overall, the events for the New York Liberty’s first-ever WNBA championship were well-attended and high-energy, with Brooklyn residents putting the exclamation point to end the celebration.
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