There are moments that transcend time; they unfold and then live forever in the collective memory in the people of the place.
May 8, 1970 was such a day, when Willis Reed, the center and heart of the first Knicks team to win a championship limped on to the court in game seven at Madison Square Garden and scored the first four points. From our black and white TV, picking up the game on the rabbit ears antenna, we could hear the Garden explode, creating echoes that we can still hear if we listen closely when we catch a Knicks game in NYC.
This week was another moment that transcended time. From OG Anunoby soaring above everyone in the final seconds to tip in the game 4 winner, to The Captain Jalen Brunson lighting up every fourth quarter, taking over the game, and bringing the first basketball championship to NYC in 53 years, a moment his father- a former Knicks player and now coach whispered to him about doing as his son signed with the Knicks.
Every borough, if not almost every street corner erupted in the kind of delirious and resplendent joy that only a fan can understand.
They watched from Central Park, inside the Garden, from streets blocked off in Harlem and Bushwick and The Village, and around bodegas. Quintessential New Yorkers celebrating a unique moment in time.
And then there is this.
The Knicks second championship banner hanging in the Garden celebrates the 1973 championship team led by Earl The Pearl Monroe, whose nickname barely captures the poetic way he led his team as a magical point guard- magical before there was a player named Magic.
There are three banners (and soon to be fourth) hanging in the Garden. The 1970 Championship Banner; the 1973 Championship Banner and a third banner next to the 1973 Banner honoring their great Coach Red Holzman, who coached the team to their first two championships. The Holzman banner celebrates his 613 wins.
The Knicks won their third championship on June 13, or as it is written 6/13.
Thank you Coach Holzman. Still showing his team the way.
KNICKS IN FIVE
Great bunch of guys on that team. Cant say the same for their fans.
ReplyDeleteThis is one the very finest pieces of sports writing that I have seen in a very long time. The Herald editors should see this and snap you up. Or even better The Athletic. You’re a very fine writer.
ReplyDeleteThanks mom
ReplyDeletePino loses by verdict of guilty. No doubt. So unlikeable. The jury sees through his acting job. They see his wealth. They see his arrogance. They will never let Lucy Fernandez’ wrongful death go criminally unpunished when Pino let those children drink alcohol in excess and he drank too. Everyone stopped for driving issues say “I only had 2 beers.” Total BS after being at the sand bar on a broiling hot sunny Florida day. 61 empty alcohol bottles and cans - and he only drank 2? Come on. Plus, if Lucy was not impaired, maybe she would not have drowned? All his recklessness and fault. I’m praying for a guilty verdict. The Prosecutor is first class and is laying out the case in a concise manner. Guilty. Prison.
ReplyDeleteHere's another comparison. Tickets to the latest version of the Knicks championship finals cost as much as a house did in 1973.
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