As Knicks enthusiasts filled the bars and streets surrounding Madison Square Garden, a calmer scene unfolded at a funeral home in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, just 30 minutes away, where bereaved basketball fans gathered to watch Game 4 of the N.B.A. finals.
The group of more than 70 people spanned a range of ages, backgrounds and hometowns. But they were united by at least two things: Their love of the Knicks and, in most cases, the loss of a loved one.
The watch party took place at Sparrow Funeral Home, which advertises its modern approach to internment services. In addition to funerals, Sparrow has hosted comedy specials about grief, live dance performances and Buddhist ego death ceremonies.
But in the remaining days of the N.B.A. finals, it opened its doors to a broader community of people both thrilled by the Knicks’ prowess and missing someone they hoped to have experienced it with.
“I think sports can be a grief ritual,” Erica Hill, the owner of Sparrow, said. “Maybe there are people coming because they always watched the Knicks with their person and their person isn’t here.”
She said that she had hoped to offer those who had come an opportunity to “be able to share about their person in a space that they feel safe,” noting that a bar or watch party at Madison Square Garden may not provide the same atmosphere.
Ms. Hill said that she felt called to host the watch party after seeing the Knicks’s center, Karl-Anthony Towns, reflect on his mother’s legacy after his team clinched a one-point win over the San Antonio Spurs during Game 2 last Friday. Mr. Towns, who led the team with 21 points, said his performance was powered by his mother’s legacy.
“If you lose a parent, anyone listening, you look for signs,” he said. He added, “I take it as a sign my mom was here with me, so I appreciate her so much.”
Mr. Towns spoke more of her during subsequent post-game interviews, reflecting on his game strategy, grief and faith. He mentioned Philippians 4:13, the Bible verse he had tattooed on his neck after his mother died — its digits also mirror the date that she passed away.
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens, me but I was strengthened on April 13 when I lost my mother,” he said.
As cool air coursed through the three-room space, attendees, wearing orange and blue, ate snacks, talked with each other and drank beer and wine — some of them brought bottles of their own to share. A guest page where people could add the names of their loved ones sat near the entrance to the funeral home. A poster board with photos of Mr. Towns and his mother, as well as the lost family members of some funeral home employees sat further inside, with a prompt in the middle: “Who are you watching for?”
During halftime, Emma Acker, a Sparrow employee, read aloud the roughly two dozen names of those who attendees lost.
Mr. Towns’ mother, Jacqueline Cruz-Towns, died in April 2020 of Covid-19 complications at age 58. Sparrow did not manage the funeral services for Ms. Cruz-Towns, but Ms. Hill said she would not have hosted the watch party if Mr. Towns hadn’t spoken so candidly of his mother and personal experience with grief.
“To have someone of his stature, his platform just say that out loud in the middle of a championship series — it’s just kind of like, ‘Wow, like, he can acknowledge the death of his mother while he’s performing at the highest level of his game and the joy comes through,’” she said. “That’s really powerful, I think, for so many people.”
And should the Knicks fall short in the end, Ms. Hill said, Sparrow will offer their services to grieving fans.
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