NYCFC & New York Red Bulls floats in USWNT ticker tape parade

A ticker tape parade through the streets of New York City to celebrate the U.S. Women’s National Team’s World Cup victory will feature floats from New York City FC and New York Red Bulls despite neither MLS team having any affiliation with the USWNT.

NASL club New York Cosmos were offered a spot on the parade but declined the offer in respect to the Women’s victory.

MLS is one of the sponsors of the parade, which is costing the city of New York up to $1.5 million to host. However, the inclusion of NYCFC and RBNY teams on floats is a poor decision. The impression is that the MLS teams are trying to piggyback off the success of the women’s team and are trying to steal away some of the limelight to focus on MLS instead of the national team.

The ticker-tape parade will be along the Canyon of Heroes, and will be the first parade in 30 years held for a team not based in New York City. This will also be the first parade held for a woman’s team in the Canyon. In the past, female athletes have been celebrated with a ticker-tape parade after winning Olympic medals.

The parade will be shown live on ESPN3. The broadcast will begin on Friday at 11 AM ET, and will feature a ceremony held in City Hall following the conclusion of the parade at 2pm ET.

The decision to organize a ticker tape parade was fueled by a change.org petition from Manhattan borough president Gale Brewer calling for Mayor Bill de Blasio to hold a ticker-tape parade to honor the USWNT on their third World Cup trophy. The petition went viral and gained thousands of signatures, a clear indication that the city wants to help celebrate the women’s achievements in Canada.

Surprisingly, FOX Sports won’t be televising the event. Instead, fans not in New York City can watch the parade live at ESPN 3 or at http:\/\/es.pn/USWNTParade as well as on ESPN’s official app, WATCH ESPN.