Crowned with the Statue of Liberty, the team’s emblem, thousands of supporters applauded and screamed with joy as their heroines, Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu and Jonquel Jones, passed by on rolling podiums, while the pregnant with the ode to New York by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys, “Empire State of Mind“.
A landmark season for the WNBA
A New York tradition, the parade has taken place since the end of the 19th century to celebrate heads of state, soldiers returning from the front, astronauts or sports champions. Megan Rapinoe and the American footballers were entitled to it in 2015 and 2019 to celebrate their World Cup title, but this is the first time that a women’s team based in New York has received this honor. “It’s absolutely incredible and they deserve it,” said Aracelis Amadeo, a 51-year-old paralegal who lives in the Bronx. “When the Giants, the Yankees or the Mets win, we organize a parade for them. Everything they have today, they deserve it,” she adds.
After five unhappy finals since 1997, the New York Liberty ended their curse on Sunday evening by winning Game 5 of the WNBA final against the Minnesota Lynx, in a melting arena in Brooklyn. This victory closed a season rich in television audiences and spectators for the New York team, but also for the league, which entered a new dimension thanks to the phenomenon Caitlin Clark, who was playing her first season as a professional with the Indiana Fever after making college basketball history with his blind passes and three-point shots.
Even before the playoffs, the WNBA, which has always lived in the shadow of the men’s NBA, was pleased to have recorded its highest number of spectators in 22 years, with nearly 10,000 on average per game, an increase by almost 50% compared to the previous season. His rising audiences allowed him to sign a new $200 million-a-year contract with broadcasters, more than triple the previous amount.
