“NY Is Back”: Fans of NY Liberty Enjoy Hearty WNBA Victory Parade on Broadway

The NY Liberty are this year’s WNBA champions for the first time after 28 years of existence, courtesy of edging out the Minnesota Lynx in a nail-biting Game 5 tiebreaker on Oct. 20. New Yorkers of all stripes attended a celebratory ticker-tape parade on Oct. 24, which was held on Broadway’s Canyon of Heroes, which stretches from Battery Park to City Hall.

Although they’re technically based in Brooklyn, where they play at the Barclays Center, local fans got a piece of the victory pie during the traditional parade. The major championship is Brooklyn’s first since the Dodgers, then located in that borough and since moved to L.A., beat the Bronx-based Yankees in the 1955 World Series. It’s also NYC’s first basketball championship since the 1972-73 Knicks beat the Los Angeles Lakers in five games.

The recently-indicted NYC Mayor, Eric Adams, announced the parade on Oct. 20: “At a time when the rest of the country is finally acknowledging the endless talent in our WNBA, we are proud to have New York City bring home the trophy. To our WNBA champions, thank you for being a role model to our city, and showcasing the values of grit, determination, and hard work.”

On the day of the parade, the mayor gave a prestigious Key to the City of New York to each member of the team, saying that it was reserved for “those who bring home the trophy.”

Parade viewers lined up along metal stanchions long before the 10 a.m. starting time, in order to secure a perfect perch for photographs–and perhaps a high-five or a wave from superstars such as Breanna Stewart or the WNBA Finals MVP, Jonquel Jones. Both had their own singular floats, exemplifying the dedicated fanbases that individual Liberty players attract.

Melanie, who was wearing a seafoam green Lady Liberty hat–a telltale sign of a hardcore NY Liberty fan is headwear based on the spiked crown of the Statue of Liberty–told Our Town Downtown that victory feels “glorious.” She had become a fan this summer, she said, and “quickly got very into it.” She joked that she “dreams” about the Liberty every night.

David Pristin, who had his young daughter Nina perched on his shoulders (she was wearing her seafoam hat), said that the two of them had been fans for a “couple of years.” Being a fan has meant becoming part of “an amazing community,” he said, and Nina smiled and shyly agreed.

A decked-out fan named Daniel, who was in his 20s, anticipated that New York was just getting warmed up. The parade meant that he was “finally seeing” the results of his “first championship,” although he predicted that the Yankees would beat the Dodgers in the World Series.

His friend John couldn’t help but agree. “New York is back,” he said, grinning.

Then, slowly but surely, the parade began. Ticker-tape began to fall onto the crowded Broadway sidewalks, forming large clumps and leading a T-shirt seller to quip that it was “snowing.” By the time that Stewart’s float reached Trinity Church, she put down one of multiple gold champagne bottles that were being passed around, before briefly disembarking to give screaming fans the aforementioned high-fives.

Upon rebounding the float, she lit a victory stogie as it continued its way north.

After the blizzard of confetti showered down on the champions, sweepers from the Department of Sanitation swung into action. About 3,000 pounds of ticker tape and confetti fell during the parade, the DOS estimated.