Knicks in Five
Documenting an epic sports run in NYC
I’m not a Knicks fan. I’m not even an NBA fan. I haven’t lived in the city long enough -10 years seems to be the unofficial, yet undisputed amount of time - to be considered a New Yorker. But what occurred over the last several weeks in this fine, five-borough piece of land was truly magical, and I feel very grateful that I got to experience it live.
New York can often be labeled as a cold, unfriendly, and even lonely place to live. For a city of 8.5 million people, streets and sidewalks jammed with people almost 24/7, it can still feel isolating. People from all over the world migrate here to chase their dreams, attempt to be great at whatever craft or passion they’re pursuing, and tiny apartments can contain plenty of soul-searching and second-guessing alongside a ton of hard work.
But last night was a testament to just how amazing this place can be. The New York Knicks ended a 53-year drought of NBA Championships and the most populous city in the country was behind them every step of the playoffs.
The momentum was building since the first round, but the snowball effect was fully realized in the finals. Every bar, pub, restaurant, street packed. People didn’t seem to just be cheering for the Knicks, we were cheering for New York.
A new mayor, crazy political times, a new trillionaire, the World Cup in town, all mixed together to shine an even brighter light on the city that never sleeps during this playoff run. It didn’t matter if you’ve been a Knicks fan for 40 years or 40 minutes, this brought people together. When I dragged my body out of bed and walked to the farmer’s market this morning, I sat on a bench next to a guy in his 70s. He asked if I watched the game last night, I told him I’d barely slept, and he remarked that Jalen Brunson’s game was the best individual performance since Walt Frazier in 1970. We talked about the upcoming parade, then we carried on with our respective days.
My hand is sore this morning from the hundreds (not exaggerating) of high-fives I gave on the streets of Manhattan last night. Because of sport, you felt like you belonged among a normally standoffish community of ~9 million. And I’ll never forget it.
Thanks to Lynn, we had a reservation at our local sports bar on the Upper West Side, Westland Roe. 45 minutes before tip-off in game five, I met a couple friends outside the bar and we were basically the last three people let in before they hit capacity and a line was formed outside. It was standing room only, and 20 seconds after I walked in, I found myself hugging a fellow resident from our apartment building - community!
Then I ran into two more friends who I hadn’t seen in a while, both jockeying for position in the standing-room-only crowd, before our table reservation was ready. We turned the reservation for 4 into a cozy group of 7 and the game was on.
Several rounds of drinks, food, and tons of laughter turned into edge-of-your seat basketball viewing and another historic Knicks comeback to seal the deal and bring home the NBA championship. What followed seemed to be one of those “only in New York” moments.
Everybody poured out onto the streets of Manhattan to celebrate. The NYPD shut down major avenues as car honking, “Let’s Go Knicks” chanting, and partying ensued. It was midnight on a Saturday, and even the relatively tame Upper West Side was flooded with people releaing all of their joy for this city.
We picked up some bodega beers, popped them in paper bags (happily supplied by the bodega man), cracked them open, and walked up the middle of Amsterdam Avenue high-fiving every stranger imaginable.
As 1am approached, we weren’t about to let this moment pass, so we hopped on the subway - another electric atmosphere filled with chanting and hilarious banter - to head downtown. A sliver of maturity had to emerge as we did not exit at 34th street (right at Madison Square Garden), but instead carried on to 14th street to see what was happening in Greenwich Village. It didn’t disappoint. Parties in the street, cheering everywhere, traffic stopped, and pubs jam-packed.
We weaseled our way into Blind Tiger for one last hardly-needed beverage, before calling it a night, taking the train back uptown and getting some much-needed rest.
In my 7+ years living in Manhattan, I’ve never seen the city all on the same page for anything like they have been for the Knicks. You haven’t been able to walk by 3 people in the last month without seeing blue and orange gear.
Every neighborhood, local business, and even schools got on board, and last night was the ultimate reward.
While I can’t claim to be a long time Knicks fan, I’ve been a supporter of NYC since the first time I stepped off a train in Grand Central Station in 2008, and last night reminded me why.
Thanks for reading,
Mike