The 2025 National Women’s Soccer League season has officially reached its inevitable conclusion. On Saturday, NJ/NY Gotham FC rose from the ashes once again to claim their second NWSL title, defeating the Washington Spirit in what marked their second consecutive final upset—this time against a different opponent. And while the congratulations and celebrations are already flowing in, Gotham seems prepared to take things to an entirely new level, as they’re set to shut down not the whole city, but at least half of New York for the festivities.

Of course, the celebrations aren’t limited to the stadium and the 18,000 fans who were there that night. Gotham FC will hold its obligatory trophy parade on Monday morning in the Civic Center neighborhood of Manhattan, inviting the people of New York City to join in. Hosting a rally where fans flood the streets and an open-top bus moves through the heart of the city will naturally bring traffic implications for anyone in the area.

At least a report from New York’s very own Pix11 Sports Nation says so. Given that the parade will kick off at the corner of West Broadway and Park Place, the champions will head south toward Barclay Street before shifting east in the direction of Broadway. From there, fans can catch their favorite stars as the procession turns north up Broadway toward Chambers Street, where the festivities will wrap up at City Hall Park.

This eventually would result in several street closures for the event: West Broadway from Park Place to Barclay, Barclay Street from Park Place to Broadway, and Chambers Street from Broadway to Centre Street. As far as the timings are concerned, the Gotham FC will begin their trophy parade at 9 a.m., and the affected roads are expected to stay closed until 3:30 p.m.

So, for daily commuters, it has been advised to avoid that route at least from morning to late afternoon. Boy, would it pose some problems for almost the entire New York City traffic. Then again, this is the least that Gotham FC has a right to do, considering how much of a blast of a season they endured.

NJ/NY Gotham deserves to shut down the entire New York!

“Underdogs” was the term that the NWSL community used to describe NJ/NY Gotham FC since the start of the season. To be fair, somewhat they were. But as summer signing Jaedyn Shaw offered a memorable rebuttal, “underdog, my a—”, boy did the Bats turn things around like never before. Having finished last seed, there was no chance whatsoever for them to literally make the playoffs, let alone win it.

But talk about their trophy luck. Just 18 months after their relaunch, they won their first-ever NWSL Championship in 2023, which, by the way, was won as the last seed. Then, the following season saw them secure the 2024-25 inaugural CONCACAF W Champions League. And now, another Championship win, courtesy of a late strike from Rose Lavelle, as well as finishing the NWSL season at eight with a tally of just 36. (Even though, there were signs for them to lift the trophy)

“I keep saying this is such a special group,” Lavelle said on the ceremony stage after the match. “We’ve had such a tough season, and this was just the most special way to top it off. We couldn’t have done it without every single person from top to bottom. It’s been amazing. This is the icing on the cake.”

Head coach Juan Carlos Amorós, too, secured his second NWSL Championship win. On the other hand, the Washington Spirit once again endured the biggest upset in its history. Having lost last year’s final against Orlando Pride, they must be pissed over how things transpired.  While we hope that with the eyes on next season, third time’s the charm for them, it’s Gotham FC for now that deserves their moment to celebrate.