Ellie Takes Manhattan

LIBERTY MASCOT ELLIE THE ELEPHANT STOLE THE SHOW AS THE TEAM CELEBRATED ITS WNBA CHAMPIONSHIP.

- JAY WOODRUFF

ON OCTOBER 24, 2024, TENS OF thousands of fans lined the streets of lower Manhattan to celebrate their latest hometown championship team, the New York Liberty. They gathered to cheer current players, including Finals MVP Jonquel Jones, and former legends who'd taken the team to the brink of a title in five previous seasons. But the parade's biggest draw may have been the team's mascot, Ellie the Elephant.

As the parade made its way along the Canyon of Heroes, Ellie moved from float to float, pounding her feet in sync with the music, doing her signature dance move, the Ellie Stomp. The parade terminated at City Hall for the official ceremony, and shortly after Mayor Eric Adams delivered a perfunctory speech, Ellie surprised the crowd by taking the stage and cajoling Liberty player Kennedy Burke to join her in an impromptu dance-off. Ellie famously never utters a word but communicates with a lingua franca of expressive body language and gestures. Before the dancing started, Ellie casually handed her couture purse to the mayor.