NEW YORK – Three hours of sleep before a Monday morning report time of 10:00 a.m. is usually a recipe for disaster, but for Gotham FC, the hard work was already done. While New Yorkers quite literally scurried to work and school, Gotham players and staff boarded an open top bus near City Hall less than 48 hours after winning their second NWSL Championship , the signs of their triumph clear to see. Trophy and winners' medals? Open top bus? Check. Sunglasses to mask the sight of fatigue and the fireball shots that, at the very least, Championship MVP Rose Lavelle and general manager Yael Averbuch West had taken in that morning? Check.

It was a fitting return to New York for Gotham, who had won the title in likely "the toughest way to get there," according to midfielder Jaelin Howell. The

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