Fans who couldn't score tickets to World Cup final in N.J. head to NYC watch parties
Celebrations got underway in New York City on Sunday as Spain beat defending champions Argentina for their second-ever FIFA World Cup win.
The match put New Jersey's MetLife Stadium on the world stage with an estimated 2 billion watching around the globe and a full house of about 80,000 fans inside.
Fans pack Mercado Little Spain
Spain fans packed into Mercado Little Spain in Hudson Yards to watch the final on giant screens.
Some traveled all the way from Spain to be closer to the action.
"We are super, super happy about it. We have been the whole summer working here, living the Spanish matches, and now we are world winners," one person said.
The celebration spilled out into the streets, where there were hugs, cheers, tears of joy and plenty of singing.
"I'm feeling so happy. My country is a World Cup winner," one fan said.
"Sixteen years, we wait for this. It's amazing. In New York! New York or nowhere!" another fan said.
Thousands gather for Central Park watch party
Watch parties were taking place all across the city. People even crowded on a Midtown sidewalk around a LinkNYC kiosk that was broadcasting the match.
Around 50,000 fans packed into the Great Lawn in Central Park for what organizers are calling the largest World Cup watch party in the world.
Fans said if you couldn't get to MetLife, it was the next best place to be – watching on giant screens with tens of thousands of locals and visitors on a beautiful, sunny day.
"Spain hit that goal, like, this whole place is insane, and the reactions were great," one fan said.
Meanwhile, hundreds gathered in Times Square.
Spain's win left brothers Elias and Axel Colon nearly speechless.
"Words can't– oh my god, talk, talk, talk," Elias Colon said.
"I cannot explain the amount of happiness I feel right now," Axel Colon said.
While Argentina fans did not get the happy ending they were hoping for, some said there was a silver lining amid the defeat.
"Now we know that the World Cup wasn't rigged [because] Argentina didn't win. Spain won," Argentina fan Matthew Grinnell said.
"I can tell to my grandson and my son about Messi. I am so proud that I lived in the same period as Messi," Argentina fan Giacomo Missenio said.
