For champs, a gala day
Victory tour kicks off in Los Angeles before cheering crowd of 10,000.
LOS ANGELES — Carli Lloyd looked out over the cheering mob of U.S. women’s national soccer team fans and raised an arm in triumph.
“It feels great to wake up as a world champion, and that feeling won’t ever get old,” Lloyd said.
The home celebrations got underway for the World Cup winners on Tuesday. The Americans were welcomed to downtown Los Angeles by an estimated crowd of 10,000 cheering fans at a rally in the first stop on a victory tour.
The first stateside appearance was a raucous party in front of fans who began camping out before dawn on short notice. Abby Wambach lifted the World Cup trophy while the players led the crowd in chants of “I Believe That We Just Won!”
Lloyd’s hat trick in a 5-2 rout of Japan on Sunday in Vancouver, B.C., the final propelled the U.S. women to their record third World Cup title. The Americans hadn’t won soccer’s biggest prize since 1999.
“I know in ’ 99 it was a huge turning point for women’s soccer, (but) I think we have just crushed history right now,” said Lloyd, who scored six goals in the tournament. “With the amount of coverage, with social media, with everything else going on, I think there was no greater time to win a World Cup than now.”
The crowd was packed with boys and girls introduced to soccer by the tournament. Hundreds wore their favorite players’ shirts, while signs included “Party Like It’s ’ 99,” “Long Live the Queens,” and “Equal Pay 4 (Female) Athletes.”
The team spent the night downtown before the rally, but could hear fans chanting down the street when they awoke. Even after everything they accomplished in the previous six weeks, the excitement still stunned them.
“We didn’t know how many people were going to show up,” Megan Rapinoe said. “We didn’t have this just a few years ago. We’ve earned it, and we’re proud of it. The atmosphere was just so much fun. It was a great party, and I like to enjoy myself.”
While defender Meghan Klingenberg filmed her team with a GoPro camera, Rapinoe took the microphone to introduce her teammates with various anecdotes, nicknames and embarrassing details. The fans roared for every player, but gave particularly loud cheers when Hope Solo addressed them.
“It is so good to be back home,” yelled Solo, the goalie who yielded just three goals in the entire tournament.
“You guys have been the most awesome of fans throughout the entire time. I’m honored to be an American, I’m honored to play for this team and this country.”