- The US Women's National Team just kicked off their World Cup-win celebrations by starring in a traditional NYC ticker tape parade.
- The ticker tape parade has been part of the city's culture for over 100 years, since the Statue of Liberty was unveiled.
- The USWNT became the first female sports team to have a parade in their honor in 2015, and became the second team ever to earn one back-to-back in 2019.
- Visit INSIDER's homepage for more stories.
Of the many uniquely New York City traditions, ticker tape parades are probably the most jubilant. While times and technology have changed — ticker tape doesn't exist anymore — the parade remains a way for New Yorkers to celebrate American heroes and sports teams the best way they know how.
This parade was the 207th ticker tape parade to be held in Manhattan's Canyon of Heroes. Keep scrolling to learn more about this time-honored tradition.
Ticker tape parades have been an NYC tradition for over 100 years. Here are New Yorkers celebrating the end of World War I in 1918.
To be exact, the tradition is 133 years old. The first one was held in October 1886 to celebrate the unveiling of the Statue of Liberty.
The parade route has become known as the "Canyon of Heroes," as the giant skyscrapers of downtown Manhattan resemble a man-made canyon.
According to the New York Daily News, 4 million people lined the streets to welcome home Charles Lindbergh in 1927. The pilot had just completed the first solo non-stop transatlantic flight from New York to Paris.
Lindbergh wasn't the only pilot to receive a ticker tape parade. Douglas Corrigan, who flew from New York to Ireland "by accident," also received a celebration.
Corrigan arrived in Ireland after a 28-hour flight. He was supposed to have flown to California, but claimed that his compass was broken and it was cloudy, so he just flew the wrong way. He instantly became an American hero.
Wired reported that his parade attracted even more spectators than Lindbergh's.
You might be wondering what ticker tape is, exactly. Before the '60s, stock brokers used to print stock quotes on ticker tape.
During the '60s, the stock exchange moved towards electronic boards, and ticker tape fell out of use.
For the first few decades, ticker tape parades were mainly held to celebrate politicians, veterans, and astronauts.
Jesse Owens was one of the first athletes to receive a parade back in 1936. But after that, it was mainly reserved for figures like General Douglas MacArthur, who received a Medal of Honor, accepted Japan's surrender after World War II, and essentially ruled Japan for six years.
The parade was held for his homecoming after his years in Japan.
John Glenn was greeted in NYC with a parade after becoming the first American to orbit the Earth. The city had previously ruled that ticker tape parades were only for special occasions — and the Space Age certainly fit the bill.
Glenn was showered with 3,474 tons of ticker tape to celebrate his return to our planet.
But now, it's mainly become associated with sports. Famed Dodgers player and former Yankees manager Casey Stengel starred in the parade celebrating the introduction of the New York Mets in 1962.
The New York Mets played their first game in 1962. Team organizers had hoped that the Mets would fill the hole left behind by the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants, who had moved to Los Angeles and San Francisco, respectively, in 1957.
As you might imagine, the parades generate an extreme amount of waste.
It also costs the city a lot. The 2015 parade was estimated to have cost $2 million, with just $450,000 kicked in by sponsors. The city footed the rest of the bill.
And now, it's not only ticker tape: Shredded paper, confetti, and even toilet paper are used.
The Downtown Alliance now provides any companies with recycled confetti if they ask. All ticker tape parades are also memorialized with a granite marker in the sidewalks of Broadway.
Nelson Mandela received his own ticker tape parade in 1990, kicking off a three-day visit to NYC.
Mandela had to be shielded behind bullet-proof glass during his parade for fear of assassination attempts, the Chicago Tribune reported.
As modern technology has advanced, people have become creative with how they try to capture a good photo.
Though you should definitely be careful — taking selfies can be dangerous.
But the offices of downtown Manhattan still celebrate the same way they did over 100 years ago, no matter how much the world has changed.
There's just something about gleefully tossing paper out the window that makes you feel like a kid getting out of school for the summer.
The first women's team to receive their own parade was the US Women's National Team in 2015, when they won their third world cup.
Only a few female athletes prior had received a parade in their honor, and never a full team. Since 1999, only two teams had been granted an NYC ticker tape parade: the Yankees and the Giants.
Giving the USWNT their own parade solidified their status as national heroes.
They received their second one on July 10. The city was ready.
In 2015, the New York Department of Sanitation collected 30 tons of trash after the parade.
Here are the 2019 World Cup champions getting welcomed back to the US with the 207th ticker tape parade.
They've become the second team to ever have back-to-back ticker tape parades — just another accolade to add to their long list of achievements.
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