I have seen much on the internet today about whether the Jeremy Lin drama is grounds for Knicks fans to turn their back on the team and saddle up next to the new guys in Brooklyn. If you’re a casual fan, I invite you to enjoy the subway ride to the Barclays Center. For the rest of us, the ones who have followed this team for decades, for who it has been a source of bonding with a parent (then and now), well, I have one thing to say: fuggedaboutit.
Sports really are a silly thing. Seinfeld said it best, you are essentially rooting for laundry. But, in so many ways, sporting events can be trigger points for memories that you want to hold on to. I remember watching Game 6 of the ’86 Series with my parents, incredulous when Ray Knight crossed home plate. I remember the epic ’99 run to the NBA Finals, specifically the 4-point play, and going out that night in the City, only to have it come up in practically every conversation. Or, more recently, the enjoyment I had from the 2008 Super Bowl, watching the Giants beat the undefeated juggernaut in the apartment that I grew up in. And, even now, my Dad and I can always talk about the Knicks.
So, no, I won’t be switching. And if you’ve been in the struggle long enough with this team (and, to put it in perspective, their last title predates my birth, but not by a lot), you look forward to that moment when it finally happens one season. Just like the Rangers in 1994.
And, one more thing, letting Jeremy Lin leave (maybe) is far from the most egregious offense out of this ownership. Anybody remember Isiah Thomas? Now, that was painful.
