I have been a fervent TV fan of the US Women's National Team since just 2011 (occasional before that), because of the latest and most dramatic World Cup goal, men or women -- Allie Krieger to Carli Lloyd to Megan Rapinoe to Abby Wambach in the 122nd minute to tie Brazil in the World Cup quarterfinals,
This is the best three-minute soccer clip ever, from "It will go down as the USA's worst performance ever in the women's World Cup" to "Abby Wambach has saved the USA's life" and "What a ball that was by Megan Rapinoe":
But seeing their games in person in previous World Cups and Olympics, or even in-between friendlies, was never financially doable.
That changed late last month. I was able to see the exciting semifinal win against Germany, the only game in the last four years they were favored to lose, thanks to a local bus tour company, Yankee Trails near Albany, NY, offering a ticket and ride to Montreal for a mere $105.
When New York City decided, on really short notice, to throw a ticker-tape parade for the World Cup champions Friday, at first I was reluctant -- driving to and parking in NYC on a weekday is grueling and expensive. The train is just expensive, about $100 per person.
So I checked the Yankee Trails site, and found a $50 ride to the parade, and became less reluctant.
Tried to talk soccer-fan friends into going, no luck. But I'd never been to a ticker-tape parade, even for other teams I root for, so, once-in-a-lifetime and all that, I bought a solo ticket.
And it was wonderful -- pure joy for all the spectators, and for the World Champions, too.
More, below.
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