'I'll watch the soccer now': New York embraces World Cup after Knicks parade

The city has been awash with blue and orange ever since the Knicks defeated the San Antonio Spurs in Texas last Saturday to win their first NBA title in 53 years.

Huge queues formed outside the club's flagship store, while dozens of street vendors have been selling unofficial shirts, gold chains and caps ahead of the widely-anticipated victory parade.

The ticker-tape procession began at 10am local time and took the team along a 10-block route from Bowling Green in Lower Manhattan to City Hall, where players were showered with more than a tonne of recycled confetti.

Public viewing areas were full several hours before the start, with fans climbing scaffolding, dump trucks and traffic lights for a glimpse of their heroes lifting the trophy.

One street vendor, who asked not to be identified, said he had lived in New York for 43 years and had never seen anything like it.

The self-confessed die-hard Knicks fan told Flashscore: "I've worked the Yankees parade, the Rangers parade and the Giants parade. This is the biggest parade ever."

But he admitted the NBA had overshadowed the two World Cup matches New Jersey has hosted so far.

The nearby city, which will host the World Cup final on July 19th, has already staged two games, with five-time champions Brazil drawing to Morocco and last year's runners-up France beating Senegal.

And despite supporters travelling from around the world for the tournament, local attention has remained firmly fixed on basketball.

"I don't follow soccer. Football for me is regular football - the New York Jets," he said. "But I wouldn't call that real football either!"

With the parade now over, many believe the city will soon embrace the World Cup atmosphere.

Cesar, who moved to New York in 1990 and began following the Knicks four years later, said the title win had been emotional.

"It’s been a long time," he told Flashscore. "I've never been this happy. It feels amazing to be part of this."

"All the focus has been on the Knicks (but) my wife is from Ecuador, so I'm going to start watching the soccer now," he added.

"From here on, everything will be focused on the World Cup."

Meaka, originally from Barbados and living in New York for the past eight years, attended the parade but admitted her main interest remains football - and Ghana in particular.

"It's a good turnout and everybody's cheering and having fun, but the World Cup is my thing," she said.

"We don't say soccer, we say football. Back home in Barbados, everybody loves football."