These may be the halcyon days for the New York Knicks, who just swept the rival Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. So far they’ve only lost two out of 10 games in the NBA Playoffs by a collective two points and are now one series away from the Finals for the second consecutive year.
Spirits are running high in the New York metro, which from a sports perspective, runs pretty far north up the Hudson and west across the state. And as much as New York City technically has two NBA franchises, when the Knicks are good, it doesn’t feel like it.
So, given the high spirits in the area, I need to make a few points. One, I’ve lived in the general New York sports metro region for around 26 years, longer than I’ve lived collectively anywhere else – and that’s not even counting my time upstate as an undergrad. I was actually even born in New York before quickly being moved away. By all accounts, this area is my home. Second, I love going to live sporting events, including basketball. And I watch what some might consider an unhealthy amount of televised sports. So, you would think I would be excited about this Knicks run, maybe even try to somehow get tickets, or at least sport a Knicks hat or t-shirt.
To which I can only say, I can’t stand the New York Knicks. This isn’t new news. I’ve disliked them most of my conscious life – solidified by two key moments in my formative years living in Houston from around age nine through when I eventually went to grad school. One, when they drafted Patrick Ewing, who I considered public enemy number one because his Georgetown Hoyas beat the Houston Cougars in the NCAA basketball championship in 1984 and because the general public completely bought the narrative that he was a better player than Hakeem Olajuwon. Which he wasn’t. And second, when the Houston Rockets and Olajuwon got revenge with their first-ever NBA Title over the Knicks and Ewing in 1994 where the only thing I found more obnoxious than Knicks players were their fans – with all due respect.
See, I am a lifelong Houston Rockets fan, a qualification solidified through my adolescence, a quality that has never wavered despite having spent far more time living outside of Houston than in its borders. The only time I’d want to go to a Knicks game in the Garden would be when the Rockets are playing. And I’d root against the Knicks. I don’t think I’m entirely unique. There’s a lot of folks who’s sporting fandom was solidified during some formative years. For a lot of us, it was place-based. I lived in Houston, so I fell in love with Houston teams and idolized their stars, especially when I saw them in person. I vividly remember as a kid going to the 1981 NBA Finals when the Rockets lost to Boston. And just being that close to Moses Malone and Robert Reid made me forever fall in love – with the team, the uniform, the arena – which is now home to Joel Olsteen’s church.
You would think it wouldn’t be like this, or that at some point, we’d change. People move on from relationships all the time – high school crushes, best friend from middle school, your favorite food in college. But not sports teams. For better or worse, they stay with you, either like a loyal pet or the plague, depending on your team and your luck.
Sports fandom is a strange mistress, and you never really know when or how you might fall in love – and the pain it might cause season after season. Which is why even though I am kind of a New Yorker, at least by proximity and even birth, I am not reveling in this glorious stretch for the Knicks, unlike pretty much everyone else I see around town.
Interestingly, my oldest kid is also a huge Houston Rockets fan. He’s never lived in Houston, but he’s been to a bunch of games in Houston’s Toyota Center. He’s not excited about the Knicks either. Which means I know I did at least one thing right as a parent.
Keith Strudler is the Dean of the College of Communication and Media at Montclair State University. You can follow him at @KeithStrudler.
The views expressed by commentators are solely those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the views of this station or its management.
