My husband grew up in New York in the 80s, watching the Knicks, and moving to California did nothing to change his support for the team.
As a lifelong Knicks fan, the fact that their last Finals appearance was in 1999 and that their last Championship win was before he was even born had no bearing on his love for his team. He watched through all of it, mostly alone on the couch, the only basketball fan in his family.
Over the years, my husband invested countless hours teaching our family the players, the history, and the game. Our kids, now 19 and 13, were mildly interested at times, but their love for the Knicks grew over time.
I was born and raised in California, and so were our kids, but through and through, we’re a Knicks family. It wasn’t until this year that my husband — and his team — are finally getting the respect and recognition that he’s been telling us they deserve all along.
Taking the show on the road
For years, whenever the Knicks came to Los Angeles, we packed up the family and went to cheer them on. But this season, we’ve taken our Knicks family on the road to support them across the country. We flew to Salt Lake City for a quick 24-hour trip just to watch them play the Utah Jazz. Walking up to the venue, Knicks fans were coming from every direction, strangers yelling “Go Knicks!” across the street.
That’s the thing about being a New York fan outside New York: the moment you spot another one, the connection is instant, and the cheering begins.
When the Knicks made the playoffs against Atlanta, my husband wanted to see them in a playoff game for the first time in his life. Tickets to see them at home at Madison Square Garden were too expensive, but we scored seats in the first section in Atlanta at a price we could stomach. As always, we were surrounded by Knicks fans because they come from far and wide; that’s just what they do.
It was an intense game, and the Knicks lost by one point in the final moments. Walking out of the arena, two young fans stopped my husband. They were devastated, asking whether the Knicks were done after two straight losses. He stood with them for over half an hour, one lifelong fan talking two younger ones through it, the way you do when you’ve carried this hope for decades and recognize it in someone else. That night was the turning point. After that, the Knicks went on a 13-game winning streak. As a Knicks family, we feel like we had a small part in that.
Finding our Knicks community
For Game 1 of the conference finals, I looked online to see if I could find a fun place to watch the action with other fans. I came across the Instagram account for the Left Coast Knicks, a legendary community of fans in Los Angeles. Before noon, people lined up at 33 Taps, a bar they had posted about online for their watch party. Many had laptops and playing cards in hand, committed to spending the whole day there just to be together for tip-off. We got there two hours early, and the bar was already full, not a seat in the house. Luckily, the organizers expanded into the restaurant next door.
Our family of four scored the front table, and within minutes, my husband was connecting with everyone around us. They weren’t strangers. They were the Knicks family we were going to spend the next two hours cheering, yelling, and rooting with. We high-fived on every basket and questioned every ref call together. Our kids were surrounded by Knicks fans, and they were cheering as loudly as everyone around them.
We’re still going strong
We live halfway between LA and San Diego, so on Wednesday, we’re headed to join the SD Knicks for Game 4, another community that found each other through nothing but their shared love of our team.
Everyone says New York fans are different. When you’re a New York fan, you already know that. But this Knicks run has shown the world that we are on a different level. Fans fill away stadiums because even when you leave New York, you never stop being a New Yorker.
My husband spent his childhood watching games alone. The childhood our kids are growing up in looks completely different: family cheering, arenas filled with Knicks fans as we travel the country, and watch parties where strangers walk in and immediately become family. Whatever happens, every member of our family will carry this experience with them forever. Go New York, go New York, go!
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