The US Women’s National Team is Leaving a Legacy – Don’t say you never heard of them

It’s July 10, 2019, New York City is having a busy and beautiful hot day.

Once again, one of the biggest cities of the world is receiving the world cup champions with a ticker tape parade.

The ceremony at City Hall park had a little bit of everything, “boos”, chants, cheers, silence, confetti and unforgettable speeches. These group of women, the US Women’s National Team, are inspiring future generations both on and off the field.

“They serve as an awesome inspiration for young girls, who want to pursue their dreams,” said a supporter in the crowd named Megan. Her friend Emely added, “It inspires me to fight for equality.”

The ceremony opened up with Fogo Azul NYC group, who are a group of 90 women playing drums, but today there was only 40 of them performing. When I asked the leader of the group what it meant for her to play for the US Women’s National Team, she explained, “ It’s such a thrill, I love this team, I love the spirit, and I love that they just keep winning, it’s fabulous.”

“People like winners, but they like more, winners with a message,” New York City Bill de Blasio said.

Since they sued their employee, the US Soccer Federation, they have become an icon of equality. Fans have taken the message of equality to heart, and today at the ceremony, the speech of US Soccer Federation President Carlos Cordeiro was interrupted by few fans “booing” and chanting “equal pay, equal pay”.

When Megan Rapinoe spoke, she defended Carlos Cordeiro, arguing that, since he became the President of the US Soccer Federation he has always been on their side. “He was there in France with us, all the time. He was at the tunnel.”

Chirlane McCray, the first lady of New York City also spoke about equal pay and encouraged the audience to chant, “USA equal Pay, USA equal Pay”.

Rapinoe ended the ceremony with a call to action speech…

“Every single person here, every single person who is not here, every single person who doesn’t want to be here, every single person who agrees and doesn’t agree, it’s our responsibility to make this world a better place…. Yes, we play sports, yes, we play soccer, yes, we are female athletes, but we are so much more than that. You are so much more than that. You are more than a fan, You are more than someone who just supports sports. You are more than someone who tunes in every four years. You are someone who watch these streets every single day, you interact with your community every single day. How do you make your community better? How do you make the people around you better? Your family? Your closest friends? The ten closest people to you? The twenty closest people to you? The most 100 closest people to you? Its every single persons responsibility….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.”

No doubt this is a team that will be remembered forever. It’s also a team not everybody loves, but certainly not everybody hates.

The USWNT team victory tour will start on August 3 at the Rose Bowl Pasadena, California. You can buy your tickets here.