 |
| Me at Madison Square Garden January 2014 |
"How in the world did you become a Knicks fan?"
I've heard the above question hundreds of times during the last 25 years. It all started in the spring of 1992 when the Knicks met the defending world champion Bulls in the Eastern Conference playoff semifinals. In the previous 1991 playoffs, the Bulls swept the Knicks 3-0 in the first round, winning each game by an average of 20 points. That wouldn't be the case in '92 as the bruisers from NYC pushed the Bulls to the full seven games in a heated series that featured intensity boiling over between Xavier McDaniel, Scottie Pippen, Greg Anthony, Michael Jordan, Charles Oakley, Will Perdue and a host of other players. Patrick Ewing was especially heroic in game six at Madison Square Garden, playing down the stretch on a gimpy ankle all the while leading the Knicks to a win which forced a game seven in Chicago. Check out the game six highlights here.
That 1992 series (that the Knicks ultimately lost) is what sparked my passion for the franchise. Most of my NBA loving friends were obsessed with Michael Jordan and the Bulls. The axles on the bandwagon were at capacity so I had no interest in hopping on. I was impressed with the Knicks' intensity and heart. They didn't submit to Michael Jordan. In fact, they challenged him greater than any other team during the Bulls championship runs. I loved the defense, rebounding and hard fouls. I was hooked and immediately began sporting Knicks shorts, shirts, and caps. Like my hardwood heroes, I talked trash to fans of other teams, especially Bulls fans. If the Knicks didn't back down from MJ and the Bulls, I certainly wasn't going to bite my tongue either. Our family had one of those old school large satelite dishes, and we got the MSG Network which showed ALL the Knicks games. This enabled me to watch the Knicks on a regular basis and further cultivate my fandom.
I love the Vols, Braves and Dolphins, but my favorite all-time sports team is the 1993-1994 Knicks that came within one game of winning a title. After dispatching the Bulls in a seven game tussle in the Eastern semis, the Knicks won a thrilling seven game series versus the Pacers to ultimately win the Eastern Conference. In the NBA Finals, the Knicks played an epic series against the Houston Rockets that pitted two teams desperate to win a championship while Jordan was on a basketball hiatus playing baseball in the White Sox organization. This may sound weird, but I've never gotten over that series loss. All the games were decided by 10 points or less, and it went the full seven games. New York went back to Houston up 3-2, but they weren't able to get over the hump in Texas and came up just short.
I've been blessed to watch the Knicks play in person numerous times. The first time was in the fall of 1994 when the Knicks played the Spurs in a preseason game at Vanderbilt. My mom and dad took my best friends and me to Memorial Gym to enjoy the action. We even skipped out on watching the UT vs. Bama "Third Saturday in October" football game as it was being played at the same time. Attending that preseason NBA game was a dream come true. Early in the first quarter, Spurs guard/wing Willie Anderson drove to the basket and tried to dunk on Charles Oakley. Big mistake. The "no layup rule" was in effect, and Oakley was whistled for a flagrant foul in a preseason game. That's the type of intensity the Knicks brought to the gym every single night - whether it was a preseason, regular season or playoff game.
Other live experiences include watching the Knickerbockers play in Atlanta during the 1999 playoffs (the 8 seeded Knicks swept the Hawks en route to the Finals), in Indiana during the 2000 playoffs, and multiple games in Memphis versus the Grizzlies. More recently when Shay, the boys and I lived in New England, I took my lovely wife to TD Garden to watch the Knicks versus Celtics. Also, I FINALLY checked MSG off my bucket list on January 7, 2014 when I watched the Knicks host the Pistons. Carmelo Anthony played a prolific game as the orange and blue bested the Pistons.
There have been some lulls in my fandom, especially post-Ewing during the Isaiah Thomas wilderness years, but during those times, my allegiance never wavered. Even though I wasn't alive during the old Knicks championship days, I've studied and read all about those late 1960s and early 1970s teams. Hell, my youngest son's middle name is "Reed" after the great Willis Reed, who was the team leader and sturdy center for both Knicks championship teams. I've taken the bull by the horns to briefly meet Doc Rivers and Derek Harper, and Shay, Harrison and I did a Ewing Athletics meet-and-greet with Patrick Ewing. We spent several minutes with the big fella, posing for multiple pictures and talking hoops. That's a moment I'll never forget.
In addition to my love for the Knicks, I have a strong connection to New York City in general. My first trip to the Big Apple was with friends to catch a couple of games at old Yankee Stadium. Subsequent trips included the U.S. Open in Flushing, a family photo shoot in Manhattan, Pistons at Knicks and a whole heap of work trips when I covered NYC as part of an operations manager territory. For a three year stretch, I was in the city six times per year for work. I embraced everything about it - the diversity, grittiness and overall vibe. I even love driving in New York City. I'm a laid back Tennessee boy, but I can flip a switch to fit right in with the horn honking, cursing, fist wagging hustle of the NYC roadways.
One of my favorite shows of all-time is the short-lived How to Make it in America which featured a crooning Aloe Blacc intro that truly captured the essence of the city.
Most meaningful, however, is my immigration history with New York City. My maternal grandfather, Angelo Karnazes, came to the U.S. through Ellis Island in 1907 as a 13 year old boy without any knowledge of the English language. I can imagine this wasn't the most comfortable luxury cruise either, as his port of departure in France was Le Havre on November 30th 1907, and his arrival date at Ellis Island was December 20th, 1907. His father, Dimitri, was with him, but he later returned to Greece. I literally would not be sitting here right now hammering away on my keyboard in Murfreesboro without New York City serving as a portal for my grandfather to enter our beloved country.
The general story-line woven in the paragraphs and sentences above is my connection to New York City, and much of that is centered around the New York Knicks. I have a genuine love for the Knickerbockers that's hard to fully articulate. That's what I've attempted to do thus far in this blog post.
The Knicks haven't been easy to root for over the past few years. The erosion of Carmelo Anthony's athleticism and the team's inability to surround him with proper complementary players has been difficult to watch at times. The arrival of Phil Jackson, who won two rings with the Knicks as a role player and 11 rings as coach of the Bulls and Lakers, was supposed to usher in a winning culture. I've read Phil's books, and while I loathed him in Chicago, I always respected his New York pedigree. In fact, his time playing for coach Red Holzman helped mold his coaching philosophy.
Phil is famous for his effective mind games with players, but he has now devolved into a passive-aggressive Twitter troll/bully that has completely alienated Carmelo Anthony and likely hampered the team's ability to draw star free agents. Who the hell wants to play for an executive that can't keep a secret and puts his players on blast via Twitter? Additionally, his failure to suspend Derek Rose for a no-call, no-show back in January showed weakness and an overall apathy towards team discipline.
Phil's failures notwithstanding, the worst part about the Knicks is owner James Dolan. Outside of Jeffrey Loria and Donald Sterling, I can't think of another recent owner who is more despised in professional sports. His horrendous history is too long to document in this post, but here's a brief history at this link.
I saw one of my Long Island buddies, Vincent, earlier this week, and he said basically the following, "All James Dolan wants is a Knicks product that will draw fans to MSG Network (Dolan is CEO of Cablevision and Executive Chairman of MSG Networks). He doesn't care about winning. That's why you see him bring in aging stars to market on television." Vinny went on and on about Dolan, and he made excellent points. Winning has never been a top five priority for Dolan.
Dolan took his idiotic actions to new heights this week by literally having his henchmen rough up Knicks legend Charles Oakley. The Oak man was arrested and booked. If you've been living under a rock, read these links to get caught up:
Knicks Invent New Type of Loss as Owner Banishes Charles Oakley
MSG's security chief fired over Charles Oakley incident
SEE IT: Charles Oakley arrested after fighting in stands at MSG, says James Dolan wanted him out of there
There's tons of other stories about the debacle on the Internet. It's the biggest story in sports right now. As someone who idolized the '90s Knicks, it makes me sick to my stomach. Charles Oakley was the ultimate lunch pail power forward for an entire decade at Madison Square Garden. Nobody better represented the identity of those Pat Riley and Jeff Van Gundy teams better than Oak. His teammates loved him, and even more telling, the current batch of NBA stars such as LeBron James, D. Wade and Chris Paul LOVE Oak. They all consider him a mentor. Read this story about Oak's cooking prowess and his mentoring of an old foe:
From Rival to Ally: Charles Oakley Helps Jayson Williams Rebound From Addiction
I don't believe a single word from the Knicks PR department, and I don't believe a single word of Dolan's interview with Michael Kay. I have never been so mad at one of my favorite sports teams than I am over this situation. In fact, I am fully boycotting the Knicks for the indefinite future (kinda like Oak's indefinite ban). I have unfollowed the Knicks (and most associated accounts) on all social media platforms. I just can't entertain the thought of supporting them right now, which is saying something considering I named my youngest son after Willis Reed.
I know there are far worse things happening in our world right now than Charles Oakley getting tackled at MSG, but I just had to get this off my chest. Typing all of this out and linking articles has been cathartic.
